CW for the chapter: knives/dagger being mentioned, reference to a near drowning, and hinted child abuse.

Okay so I said I had an important thing to say here. This summer has really torn me apart. I'm not in a great state of mind. But I do love writing SL, and I am ready to post again. Just… slowly, at first. Which is why I am going to be updating only on Tuesdays for a while. On to the important thing...

Cw human death and pet death:

In July my mother passed away. My mother was one of the most incredible, wonderful women I've ever met in my life. She was brilliant and supportive and kind and loving. For those that don't know, a lot of Miss Fawley is based on my mother. She was more than a mother to me, she was also a best friend. We were very close and I loved her very, very much.

My mother loved Shifting Lines. She was constantly asking questions about it, she'd shout out comments as she'd read the newest chapter, or often asked me if I could release an extra bonus chapter. She even gave me a stuffed black dog named Gwyllgi. Less than 48 hours before she passed I told her I was going to continue SL and she was so proud of me for continuing. I'm glad I told her when I did because I considered waiting a little while. I am VERY happy I was able to talk to her about this. I am very happy that I had the chance to hear her tell me how proud she was for my decision. The day she passed we talked about SL, too. She was looking forward to continuing reading, looking forward to me posting again. She truly did love this story, and I am dedicating this entire series to her.

Mom, I know you're reading this where you are, and thank you for being so supportive of my passion for writing my entire life… and for being supportive of me writing fanfiction. I love you, and miss you. I really hope this story will do you proud.

And an additional announcement is one of my dogs, Glaceon, passed away yesterday (just after midnight on the second). She was one of my baby girls, I met her when she was just four days old. She was only five years old and this has been another huge blow to me. This summer has really been hell for me. But I am hoping Shifting Lines will help me through this.

Thank you everyone for the patience and I hope that y'all continue to enjoy the story!

-x-

"That is absolutely bloody weird! Do it again!"

Remus tried not to laugh as he pushed the hoover over some dirt then pulled it back to reveal the dirt was gone. Sirius stared down at the carpet in shock.

"Muggles did this?"

"They certainly did." Remus turned the hoover off and unplugged it.

"You know, sometimes I think they're more clever than some purebloods think."

Remus carefully wrapped the cord around the handle. "Muggles are a lot more clever than a lot of purebloods think. I wish we still had our telly. Our television set. You'd go mental over that."

Sirius followed Remus closely as he took the vacuum cleaner back to the closet. "Television. What was that again?"

"Moving pictures with sound. Sometimes fiction—made-up stories. Sometimes… real life. You know you're not attached to me with a six inch cord."

Sirius took a step back. "S'brilliant. They can't use magic to zap away the dirt so they come up with something to suck it up and… throw it away?"

"Usually yes, but as I told you before my father simply makes the stuff disappear so we don't have to—to, er, waste bags," Remus mumbled, avoiding saying 'buying more'.

"How do Muggles make it… go?" Sirius went back into the living room, kneeling down to peer at the outlet. "What is this?"

"Don't poke it." Remus hurried after him. "It's an electrical outlet. Muggles are usually connected up to a power grid. We used to be, but soon after we moved here Dad opted to go fully magic. That's why we don't have our telly anymore, because the Hurble Gem we got was pretty cheap and wasn't able to hold a charge for a television set."

Sirius sat back against his heels. "A what gem?"

"Hurble Gem." Remus rubbed his elbow, feeling strange explaining things he'd consider common and household! "It was invented by Elnora Hurble, for homes that have both Muggles and magic in them like mine but don't want to be dependent on Muggle electricity. I'll show you." He took Sirius out to the garage to show him the box hooked up to the wires that went into the house. Inside the box was a large egg-shaped thing that looked like stone. "It generates electricity through spells. Ours was rather cheap and it tends to need recharging a lot. Using the telly sapped it quick which is why we got rid of it."

"I've never heard of this," Sirius said, studying the rock.

Remus put his hands in his pockets, shrugging. "Probably since it is marketed towards homes with Muggles in them." Sirius stared silently down at the Gem. "Are you all right?"

"Hmm?" Sirius brushed his hair back, glancing up at Remus. "Yeah. It's—yeah I'm fine." He got up and Remus closed the box. "I never gave Muggles much thought growing up. I mean I knew some things, you can't live in London and not know about things like cars and all. Ever since coming to school and getting to know you and Peter and… I dunno, you know, learning more about… Muggle things it's…" He raked his fingers through his hair then smiled. "I'm excited for Muggle Studies. Jimmy and I wanted it 'cause… uh…"

Remus folded his arms, smirking. "It's an easy class?"

"Yeah, I guess so," laughed Sirius. "But now I really am looking forward to it. Learning more about the Muggle world."

"I'm glad you're looking forward to it," Remus said honestly. He knew perfectly well why his friends had chosen Muggle Studies and it made him very happy to hear all of this. "I don't know what Muggle Studies will be like. Hopefully… actual, proper… real… learning and not simply stereotypical wizarding thoughts on them. Most of which are blatant lies, some of which are from lack of actual knowledge. Muggles aren't… that different. They can't use magic, but they come up with wonderful inventions. Come with me."

They went back into the living room where Remus turned on the Muggle radio, twisting the knob until he found a modern station he enjoyed.

… say I've got a dirty mind! Well I'm a mean go-getter. And I don't know why! And I don't know why! Anymore… oh no! So cum on feel the noize! Girls grab the boys! We get wild, wild wild! We get wild, wild wild! So cum on feel the noize! Girls grab the boys! We get wild, wild, wild! At your door!

Remus had intended for Sirius to hear the DJ and the ads and maybe some music, to show him the Muggle stations could be very similar to magical radio stations, but the song blasted out and Sirius stared rather slack-jawed at the radio.

"That's… a voice," he whispered, approaching the radio. "Who is that?"

"I—I don't know, I haven't heard this song before," Remus admitted.

SO CUM ON FEEL THE NOIZE! GIRLS GRAB THE BOYS! WE GET WILD, WILD, WILD!

"Could you turn it up?"

Remus edged the volume up, then stepped away. The music was a little too loud for his own ears, but he couldn't get over the look of awe on Sirius's face as the raw voice pumped through the speakers.

Then the song ended and the DJ began speaking, explaining that it was Cum On Feel The Noize by Slade.

"Slade," Sirius echoed. "Play it again! Make him play it again! I want to hear it again!"

Remus inched over, turning the volume back down. "Maybe you could write to Peter and see if he could find the album for you," he suggested

Sirius glanced up. "That was… I don't—that—that was so different from—I can't explain it!"

"Yeah," Remus said when Sirius didn't say anything else. "Sometimes Muggle music feels different."

"I want to hear it again!" Sirius shot the radio a dirty look as it began playing another song. "Maybe Uncle Alphard can help me find it. You think it's—you think it's an album we could find?"

Remus hated not to be able to give him the answers. "I—I don't know. I don't know much about the group. Or singer. Slade could be the name of the singer or a band, really."

Sirius listened to the radio a bit longer before turning the radio off. "What other Muggle things are around?"

Remus took him around the house some more, showing him different Muggle appliances. Sirius was fascinated by everything, continually mumbling about how clever Muggles could be. In the kitchen he finished the tour with the fridge and stove, since both were very similar to their wizarding counterparts.

"Instead of reacting to a wand, they react to these." Remus twisted one of the knobs and Sirius jumped when a flame burst up. Remus quickly turned it back off. "I'm not supposed to use this, though. Er, I mean, with my parents gone. I use it when Mum's here."

"You can cook the Muggle way?"

"Yes. Cooking is easier than baking. And Potions."

Sirius put his hands on his hips, lips twisting into a smirk. "Muggle baking is hard! But it was fun."

Remus giggled, remembering when he, Sirius, James, and Lily baked a cake and biscuits for Peter's thirteenth birthday. Bisc-tits, he mentally corrected; Sirius had decorated them to look like tits. "It was hard because you and James are idiots."

"We did our best," Sirius argued. Remus rolled his eyes. "Oi, we did better at Muggle baking than you do at Potions."

Remus opened his mouth then closed it. "A bit," he admitted. "Though the only reason we managed to pull that off is thanks to Lily—is something wrong?" he asked, noticing Sirius was staring past him. He turned, worried his parents had come back, even though the window looked out into the side yard and not the front.

There was an owl he didn't recognize fluttering outside. For a brief second he was seized with terror that it was from the Ministry or something even though that was ridiculous, then he went over and opened the window. It surprised him to see the envelope was addressed to him. The owl screeched unhappily as Remus tried to get the envelope, and wound up pecking his hand.

Sirius ran over, soothing the owl which cuddled up to his chest. He untied the letter and handed it to Remus.

"I've no idea who this is from," he said, turning the envelope over. The handwriting was sorta familiar but he couldn't place it. "Thank Merlin it came when my parents were gone!"

"Evans?"

"No, she has a barn owl." Remus sucked the blood off his hand, glad that it only took a few seconds for the bite to heal. He fetched a knife from the drawer and carefully opened the envelope. When he pulled the letter out, a thick piece of paper almost fell out. He took it without seeing it, instead reading the letter. He stared at the letter then lifted the smaller piece of paper. Then he looked at the letter again.

"What is it?" Sirius asked, still stroking the owl.

"I—I don't understand."

"Understand what?" Remus slid into a chair, setting the papers down so he could press his hands against his head. "Bloody hell, Remy, what's wrong? Bad news?"

"No. Good news. Very good news. But news I—I—" Remus pushed the letter over, the words still dancing in front of his eyes, not making any sense. "I don't understand."

Sirius squinted at the letter then drew it close to his face. "Wh—hey! This is terrific news! Why the frown?"

Remus snatched the letter back. "Because." He flapped the letter that congratulated him on winning the essay contest, awarding him with a gift certificate to Flourish and Blotts. "I never entered a contest!" He slapped it down then turned his attention to the gift certificate. It was good for five galleons. A great amount, in his eyes. "There must be some mistake."

Sirius reached over, tapping the letter. "That is your name. Remus Jirius Lupin—"

Remus smacked his hand away from the J. "Oh, stop that."

"—Dragon's Field, Wales. That's you." Sirius settled back, shrugging. "Doesn't seem like much of a mistake to me."

"It's got to be, though! I never wrote an essay, I never entered a contest! I never knew there was even a cont—" He stopped, eyes narrowing. "You didn't enter me, did you?"

Sirius snorted. "Me? No. You've seen my essays, they're so bad I'd probably end up owing Flourish and Blotts money!"

Remus stared at the letter. "James, then."

"James wouldn't enter you into a contest, he'd give you the money himself," Sirius said. "Not that you'd take it."

He began folding the letter up. "I don't like people spending money on me! It's…" He trailed off, the wheels turning in his head. "Fawley."

"Fawley?"

He rubbed his forehead. "Miss Fawley sent me a letter the other night. Saying whatever happened this weekend to play along. That's why I asked you if she was involved with you being here, even though I didn't think she'd arrange this. Arrange you being here, I mean. This…" He tapped the letter. "This has her all over it! I bet you she did this."

Sirius tilted his head. "Miss Fawley entered you into a contest?"

"No! There was no contest. She made it up. She bought the certificate herself and—and dressed it up to look like I won a contest so—so—"

"So?"

Remus chewed his bottom lip, pressing his finger against the certificate and spinning it on the tabletop. "So I could afford my electives. So I could take my electives."

Sirius jerked forward. "Excuse me? Whaddaya mean so you can 'take' them! Weren't you signed up?"

Remus sighed. "Yes. However we… I—" He swallowed, still spinning the certificate. He hated admitting how little money they had! "Dad spent a lot getting the cellar fixed up for me and I have to get new uniforms. We don't have enough to cover everything, most likely. There is—was every probability I would need to drop an elective or two in order to afford what was needed."

Sirius put his hand on top of Remus's, stopping its movement. "Then take the money."

"I can't—"

"Why not? No, stop scowling. Why not? Because you can't accept gifts?" Sirius demanded and Remus looked away. "Fawley's come up with a bloody genius way of helping you out. You should take it." Then suddenly he realized what he was doing and pulled his hand away. Remus withdrew his own hand, hoping he wasn't blushing. "If it bothers you she did this, you could always pay her back by knitting her something."

Remus started to say something then stopped. Then, "That's… not a bad idea. Blankets are… can be expensive. I could knit her a blanket. And a hat and scarf." He tugged at his lip, thinking. His knitting wasn't professional enough to ever make up for five galleons but it'd be something. If he knitted, though. He felt a little weird about knitting ever since his father had made the comment regarding masculinity. "Thank you. That's a good idea."

He still wasn't sure how he felt. Accepting five galleons like this even though it meant he could take the electives.

Sirius watched him for a few seconds then stood up. "Hey, why don't we go out into the woods or something? That was the plan when your parents were here, but I'd like to see where you spend your time anyway."

"Mm? Yeah, uh, that—all right." Remus rose to his feet, gathering the letter and certificate. "Um. Are you going to go out like that though?" He looked Sirius up and down, in the ill-fitted clothes.

Sirius looked down at himself then back up, laughing. "I guess not."

"I can dry your shirt."

They went back into the cellar, where Remus used a spell to dry Sirius's shirt while Sirius changed into his trousers behind the curtain. He reminded Remus—teasingly—that he wasn't supposed to use magic out of school. Remus tossed the dried shirt over the rods, asking how often Sirius used magic out of school. Sirius emerged from the curtains, tugging down his shirt.

"Enough to end me in Azkaban, probably," he joked, running his fingers through his hair then pulling it back into a ponytail. "Come on!"

It was a very nice day out, maybe a little too warm but once they ran into the woods it was a bit cooler under the leaves. The two of them talked about various things—their friends, school, Quidditch—as they hopped off rocks and walked across logs. They got two long sticks and had a mock sword fight which Sirius won, jabbing the stick between Remus's body and arm; Remus whirled around and crashed to the ground, making dying noises and kicking his feet. Then Sirius tried to climb a tree that shouldn't have been climbed and fell out. Remus looked up at the tree, figuring he could probably climb it since he was so much smaller, but he had a fear of heights which he was pretty sure was from when he fell out of a tree as a kid and broke his arm.

"Come on," he said, taking Sirius's wrist and pulling him to the stream. They removed their socks and shoes, rolling up their trouser legs so they could wade in, trying to catch different critters. Tadpoles, newts… Remus even almost got close to catching a fish but it darted away. Sirius gave a triumphant cry as he caught a snake. He held it aloft proudly as it wriggled and thrashed in his hand, the body swiping close to Sirius's face. He jerked back in surprise then dropped the snake, his arms wheeling as he fell back into the water.

Remus doubled over laughing as Sirius sat in the water, a look of pure annoyance on his face.

"Yeah, yeah, ha-ha-ha." He got to his feet, shaking water off his hands. "See? Snakes can't be trusted."

Remus still had his hand over his mouth. "Sirius, you're the one who snatched the poor thing from where it was probably just trying to find lunch. It had every right to smack you in the face."

"You're catching things too!" Sirius protested.

He shrugged. "And the things we catch have every right to fight back." Except when he tried to say 'back' he broke off into more laughter then shrieked as Sirius grabbed him, picking him in a manner like he was going to throw Remus into a deep area. "NO!"

"Onnnnne…!" he drew out, swinging his arms without letting Remus go

"NO! PLEASE!" he squealed, still laughing.

"Twwwoooooo!"

"SIRIUS! PLEASE!"

Sirius didn't say three, nor did he throw Remus. Instead he got a frown on his face and then gently set him down. "I realized how horrible that was of me to do."

Remus brushed himself off, panting a little. "What, throwing me into the water?" He wasn't sure whether to be disappointed or relieved about not being tossed. A mixture of both, really.

"Yes," Sirius said and Remus glanced up in surprise. "After—I mean, you almost—and you can't swim…"

Remus wiped his hands off on his jeans. "Almost drowning?" he asked and Sirius nodded. "If I had been that afraid I wouldn't have been laughing. Besides, that water over there only comes up to my chest."

Sirius pulled his hair out of his ponytail which had been becoming loose, letting the slightly damp waves shake free. "It still would have been bloody horrible for me to do." Then his eyes lit up as he yanked his hair back into a neater ponytail. "You know what we should do?"

Remus took a step back. "The way you said that gives me a stomachache and makes me feel like you're about to suggest something very stupid."

"No, not stupid," Sirius promised, eyes dancing. "Ooh, wait, it should be a surprise. I'll have to write to James—"

"What are you planning?"

Sirius put a finger to his lips and winked. "It'll be a surprise." He then craned his neck back, looking at the sky. "We should probably head back, it's probably getting close to when I need to leave."

It was only twelve-thirty by the time they got back to the Lupin residence. Sirius waited in the woods while Remus checked the garage; once he saw his parents weren't home he waved his arms and Sirius jogged over. Inside, Remus had Sirius bring in the wizarding radio so they could listen to music while Remus fixed them lunch. Even though he wasn't supposed to use the stove he still turned it on to cook pasta. Sirius watched with great interest as he filled a pot with water and put it on the stove, adjusting the heat.

"It looks like you're making a potion and that makes me nervous," Sirius said from where he leaned against a counter.

Remus brushed his fringe back. "First off, pasta doesn't stink to high heaven, and second, if I accidentally dump too much in it won't make everything explode."

Sirius slowly nodded. "Okay, yeah, that's fair." After a few seconds he added, "I thought you said you weren't to use the stove."

"I'm not supposed to use magic out of school either," Remus pointed out as he sat down. Sirius tugged the chair next to him out to sit as well. "Besides, we have a lot of pasta. It would be the easiest thing to make without Mum noticing much is missing. I'd make sandwiches however we're a little low on bread and I think she would notice that more than this."

Sirius propped his elbows on the table, chin in hands. "Smart."

"Speaking of being smart…" Remus switched his gaze to Sirius. "Have you done your—"

"If you're going to ask about our homework I'm going to scream," Sirius said.

Remus pressed his lips together. "… well, have you done them?"

"Aaaarrrggghhh!" Sirius groaned, face thudding into the table. "No, Professor Lupin, I have not done my homework yet. Yes," he added as Remus started to talk, "I know I need to do them. Everything will be done before classes."

"Classes," Remus repeated.

Sirius lifted his head. "Classes. Not the end of his month, not the end of August, but by classes. Why should I stress myself out over getting everything done when they're not due for ages?"

Remus was rubbing his forehead, making unhappy grunting sort of sounds. "You could get them over with and not worry about them."

"Remy, look at me." Remus lowered his hands, blinking from behind his fringe. "After you finish your assignments do you forget about them or do you worry, obsess, stress, and redo them a million times?"

Remus remained silent.

"Eh?"

"The water's boiling." He quickly got up, grabbing the jar of pasta.

"You're not answering me."

"I'm busy cooking." He dumped a couple handfuls of noodles in and stirred, poking the stiff ends in once the other ends softened enough so they wouldn't break. He could feel Sirius's eyes on him and sighed. "Fine. You may be right about that but!" He whirled around, pointing the wooden spoon at him. "You don't do that. So your argument is invalid."

"That means I win," Sirius said smugly.

"Does not!"

Sirius got to his feet, laughing. "You said I was right."

Remus turned back to the pasta, huffing out. "You are correct that that is how I deal with my assignments. However, how I deal with them has no correlation with how you do yours. So. I win."

He stiffened as Sirius came up behind him, leaning his head in over Remus's shoulder. "All right. You win. Happy?"

The feel of Sirius right there, of his breath against his neck… he couldn't stand it! Too much. Oh Merlin this was too much, too close, too intimate. "Mmm."

Sirius stepped away, sitting on the nearby counter. "You're as bad as James sometimes, with your need to be right."

Remus just smiled as he stirred the noodles. A year ago, that comment would have made him sick to his stomach and filled him with the need to apologize. Now it amused him more than anything else.

Soon they both had a plate of pasta (Remus gave Sirius the larger portion since he hadn't had as much for breakfast) and were making guesses about who the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher might be. It was a little strange for Remus for a couple of reasons. Mostly because the previous teacher made him feel wrong things, but also for the fact the Marauder had found the remains of another Defense teacher; Professor Young had worked at Hogwarts for a few years until 1966, and since then no teacher had stayed on for more than a year. She had died in a manner that made Remus suspect there was a curse on the position though he certainly couldn't prove it, unless he could find out what the runes on the dagger had meant. If he remembered the runes well enough. He might need to have Fawley take him back to that memory sometime so he could copy them down…

"Hopefully it's someone more like Prewett than Dedenne," Sirius said, slurping up the last of his pasta. "If it's another Dedenne then they're gonna have a lot of bad times this year."

"You shouldn't cause trouble for the teachers," Remus reprimanded as he took the plates to the sink.

Sirius followed him. "Then they shouldn't cause trouble for you. Here, let me help. I've had detention in the kitchens before, I know what I'm doing."

Sirius washed the dishes while Remus dried them and put them away so Hope wouldn't notice they had been used. Then they went to sit outside in the garden for a bit, enjoying the warm sun and talking about various things. It was wonderful. Remus wanted the day to last forever. He wanted Sirius to stay for hours. He wanted James and Peter to come over too, and the four of them have summer fun together. He burned with the unfairness of it all, wishing his parents would come around! But he knew they wouldn't. They'd never.

"Do you think anything big is going to happen this year?" Sirius asked out of nowhere.

"What do you mean?"

"Like… a big adventure."

Remus pressed his lips together, realizing what Sirius meant. "I hope not. We might not be so lucky next time, if something like that happens again."

"Maybe not that dangerous," Sirius amended. "I dunno. It was thrilling." He picked up a loose leaf that had fallen, twisting the stem between his fingers. "It's a bit fun being in danger."

"Speak for yourself," Remus couldn't help but say. "I think I've used up my being-in-danger quota for life."

"Not bad danger, fun danger," Sirius protested. Remus rolled his eyes at him. "I guess when you've gone through what you have, though, danger isn't much fun."

He reached up, touching where his scar was hidden under his sleeve. "Not really. Though…"

"Hmm?"

"I dunno. I don't remember anything about that night…" He sort've wanted to tell Sirius about his nightmares, about the memories that were triggered when he saw Twycross's boggart. He wanted to tell his friend everything and get an opinion, but also he didn't think he was ready to talk about it with Sirius. "Fine."

"Fine?"

Remus glared at him. "Some danger can be fun."

"HAH!"

"SOME!" Remus threw a clod of dirt at him. "Shut up! Not the sort of danger we were in you know, when I almost drowned or James almost got buried by rubble. Not quite that intense of danger. A little bit less than that… could be fun. Stop smirking!"

"Never," Sirius giggled.

Before long, though, it was time for Sirius to leave. Remus wasn't sure how soon his parents would return, and Sirius figured he should get to his uncle as soon as possible in case his family was looking for him. Remus locked up the house and walked with Sirius through the woods towards Dragon's Field. He thwacked trees with a stick while Sirius trudged along next to him with the broom and camo-cloak.

"Remy?"

"Hmm?"

Sirius had his face upturned, looking at the leaves above them. "Have you ever thought of doing… tutoring?"

Remus was so surprised he stopped in his tracks. "Tutoring?" He hesitated then started walking again. "Your grades aren't that bad, are they?"

Sirius shrugged. "Not me. In general, I mean. You could get paid for it."

Remus narrowed his eyes, knowing Sirius was damn well up to something. "If you need help, I'm always happy to give it to you. As for tutoring… I'll probably be too busy with all the electives."

"Oh." He sounded disappointed.

"Why?"

Another shrug. "Reg didn't do well. On his exams. Our parents are a little angry about it."

"Ah." Remus tossed the stick aside and put his hands in his pockets. "Yeah, you told me that in a letter. You want me to tutor him?" He wondered if Sirius had any idea an attempt to do so had been made. Remus helped Regulus with some things the previous year, and offered to continue to help. Regulus had initially agreed then changed his mind without saying why, though it didn't take much thought to figure out why. The reason he suspected Regulus didn't want him tutoring was the one he voiced now. "You really think your parents would allow a half-and-half to tutor him?"

"You're the smartest in our year, everyone knows that," Sirius said. "They… might."

Remus refrained from responding to that. He highly doubted the Blacks would allow any such thing. "I would be willing to help him, if he wants."

"I just don't want our parents mad at him."

Remus pushed his fringe back, not liking the way Sirius said that. It was too close to all the dark thoughts swarming in the back of his head, and he knew Sirius would never talk about it. Maybe I should try again. "Hey. Um." He stopped, since they were right outside the little community. Sirius stopped too, looking at Remus. "About your parents." He felt scared to mention it again, with the way Sirius shut him down the previous night. And that morning. "About—about what happened…"

"When?"

"Your wounds," he said, forcing the syllables out. Sirius opened his mouth but Remus plunged into, "Our first year. Your broken arm." It was so much more than that but he could tell he had crossed a line. Sirius's face had gone all stormy. "Sirius, I—"

"It's nothing," Sirius said.

"—I'm concerned about you."

"And I'm not concerned about you?" Sirius retorted.

Remus blinked, taken aback by this. "What do you…? Because of the moon?"

"No. It—you—your—" Sirius shook his head. "Forget it. I don't want to part on a bitter note. Please." Remus opened and closed his mouth, very confused. Before he could say anything, Sirius set the broom and cloak down so he could yank Remus into a hug. "I only want to think of the fun stuff we did. No arguing. None of… that."

"Yeah," he agreed, trying not to bury his face into Sirius's warm chest.

Sirius squeezed him tighter. "I'm glad we got to see each other."

"Me too," Remus gave up resisting and pressed forward a little, into his chest, hugging him back. The hug lasted longer than he expected, Sirius not letting go for well over a minute. At the end Sirius gave him another squeeze before releasing him.

"Five more weeks," Sirius said, tousling his hair. "Thank you for helping me last night."

"Um, you—you're welcome," Remus stammered out.

Sirius suddenly gave him another very quick hug then put the cloak on, pulling the hood up over his hair. "Not very camouflaged in the daylight but hopefully with the hood nobody will figure out I'm a Black. Don't want rumors going around about this, you know? See you soon, Remus."

"Goodbye, Sirius. Be—be safe."

Sirius winked at him and picked his broom up, leaving the woods and going into Dragon's Field. Remus leaned sideways against a tree, watching him until he disappeared into the pub. Once the door swung shut Remus turned and headed home, feeling very strange with a multitude of feelings, none of which he could really figure out.