'Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Warning: Language

Chapter 52 – Life on the Fringes of Friendship

Remus' initial reaction to Sirius at The Three Broomsticks seemed to set the tone for them once he'd settled back into the dormitory in Gryffindor Tower. While the young werewolf never cut Sirius openly, it was apparent that his attitude was one of resigned tolerance. Remus kept his distance from Sirius whenever possible, and was chilly – but polite – when contact could not be avoided. With no previous ability to plan a response to the situation, Sirius strove to accommodate Remus' attitude toward him and did not initiate any contact or conversation. When they were all gathered together, Sirius put himself as far away from his former friend as he could manage and still remain with the group. He used the time to analyze how he might be able to either resolve the problems between them – or achieve closure – before the rest of the students arrived for the new term.

The fissure that had existed between Sirius and Remus before the holiday had grown to a yawning chasm. The last thing either wanted, however, was to make the situation difficult for their friends. Unfortunately, this was unavoidable. By the end of their first week together, Kate's fingernails had been bitten into an appalling state, Lily was spending most of her waking time in the library and James' nervous habit of running his hands through his hair had made combing it a near impossibility. Even Dumbledore and McGonagall were not immune to the tension surrounding the five young people. On the Thursday evening marking the first full week that everyone had been together, James, Lily and Kate did their best to carry the conversation and were actually doing a decent job of it. Sirius spoke up from time to time, as did Remus – but they never spoke to each other. McGonagall suffered through the charade until the main course had finished – casting stern looks at the two Marauders as she ate - and then she could take it no longer.

"Am I to believe that the two of you have yet to come to any resolution of the situation that occurred last term?" She eyed the two young men, neither of whom would meet her gaze. Silence reigned, while James, Lily and Kate looked at their plates, as well.

"That was not a hypothetical question, gentlemen," McGonagall stated sharply. "I require an answer – preferably sometime before the rest of the students arrive for the new term."

Remus finally looked up at his professor and head of house. "With all due respect, Professor, the nature of the situation is such that there is no easy resolution to be had." He lifted his napkin from his lap and dropped it next to his plate, but before he could rise, McGonagall stopped him with a hand on his arm.

"Remus," she said quietly, "I never said the resolution would be easy. I would think, however, that achieving it would be important enough to you both that you would overcome the difficulties." When no response was forthcoming, she sighed and removed her hand.

Remus excused himself and left the table.

"Professor McGonagall's message is well-stated," Dumbledore said softly. He glanced at Sirius. "And I would imagine that you, Mr. Black, understand the difficulties about which she spoke."

Sirius nodded. "Intimately. What you've seen at meals is typical of every waking hour we are in the same room. Remus will not speak with me. He barely tolerates my presence and gives me no opportunity to approach him directly."

Dumbledore leaned toward the young man. "Sometimes we must create opportunities, Mr. Black."

XXXXXXXX

The evening breeze was cool and rich with the fragrance of Night Scented Jessamine. Remus focused on the still surface of the lake and breathed deeply, trying to suppress the anger that threatened to bubble to the surface. This is not some schoolboy disagreement, he thought to himself. This cannot be 'resolved' with a handshake and a promise to do better in future. Why is it that I am the only person who can see that?

"Remus?"

The werewolf whipped around to see James standing a distance behind him. The dark-haired wizard gestured at the empty space next to where Remus was seated on "the Marauders'" flat rock. "May I?"

Remus nodded. "Did you draw the short straw, then?"

"Sorry?"

"Muggle phrase. I can't imagine that you're just here to pass the time – particularly after McGonagall's comment at dinner," Remus said, turning his head to look at his friend. When James simply stared back at him, Remus continued, "I suspect that you were elected to come and have a word with me."

"Nope. I'm here on my own." James said matter-of-factly. "I am capable of independent thought and action, you know."

Remus snorted. "Lily would be stunned to hear it."

James punched him on the shoulder lightly. "Shut it, you."

The two friends silently watched the giant squid stretching and moving inky black tentacles above the surface of the lake for a while before James spoke again.

"Helluva situation we've got here, isn't it, Moony?" His tone was conversational – deceptively so.

"Sorry?"

"Five friends…that's right – five…all together in one place for six weeks. No real rules, no real schedule. Should be the time of our lives, shouldn't it? It's not though, because we're not really together, are we? We're two different groups of four: Kate, Lily, you and me and Kate, Lily, Sirius and me. Makes things a bit awkward, really," James stated.

"And that's my fault," Remus stiffened slightly.

"Honestly? No … and yes. The original act that caused all of this upheaval was definitely not your fault. We both know where the fault lies for that – actually, we all know. For the way you're acting now, though – yeah, I'd have to say that part is down to you," James answered.

"Care to explain how?" Remus' voice and manner were decidedly chilly.

"Why is it that whenever we bring up this topic – or the topic walks into the room – it gets so bloody cold? Never mind," Remus had started to slide forward as if to leave and James put out his arm to block him. "Wait – sorry. Stay. Please."

Remus used his heels to leverage himself back to the top of the rock again. James nodded once. "Thanks. Ok, so listen. You're operating on knowledge you had before we all left at the end of term. A lot has changed over the summer. Sirius has changed. He might not have been able to come up with the words to say to you before, but he can now. He's different, Remus; you saw some of it before we left – I know you did. I could see it on your face that day we discovered that Sirius had moved out. In part, he did that for you, you know. He knew it would be easier for you if he wasn't around the dorm, so he left."

"We – none of us - were talking to him at the time. It made Sirius' life easier to move out, as well. His motives weren't entirely selfless, were they?" Remus asked.

"Moving out didn't make Sirius' life easier, Remus, and if you weren't blinded by your own bitterness and anger, you'd see that. He isolated himself – Sirius isolated himself. You know him as well as I do – in fact, I used to think you knew him better than I did. If that's true, you know how bloody awful it is for him to be alone – and you know why. Yeah, maybe getting out of the dorm meant that he didn't have to be in the middle of three people who weren't talking to him, but it didn't mean that he could forget about us. We didn't bother to hide anything about how we felt, did we? Not that he didn't deserve it at first, because he did. But things are different now," James said.

Remus swallowed audibly. "I'm glad that you and Sirius have repaired your friendship, James. Truly I am. And I'm happy that he and Kate have resolved their differences, as well. It's not that I want him friendless, James; I know too well what that's like for me to wish it for anyone else. I just can't pick things up where we left off; he's betrayed my trust – and whether or not you agree – I can't be a friend with someone I can't trust."

"Remus, I don't minimize what Sirius did – not for a moment. He was beyond stupid and careless and unthinking. The difference between then and now is that before he just recognized that he'd been all of those things. Now, he realizes what he did and he understands the impact and what it's cost all of us." James slid down the rock and landed on his feet. Turning to face the other wizard, he shoved his hands in his pockets and sighed. "Look, I know what he did and I understand what that means to you, alright? And I know that I don't have the right or the ability to make you forgive him; I don't even have the right to ask you to do it. But what I will ask is that you think about talking with him – just once, if that's all it turns out to be. Listen to him, Moony; if you still can't forgive him, then so be it." He looked down at his trainers for a moment. "So be it."

James nodded once then began to walk away when he heard Remus' voice again.

"I trusted him with my biggest secret, James."

"I know."

"And he used it – he used me – against someone else without regard for the consequences."

"I know."

"James, I'm just … I'm so angry. How am I supposed to move beyond this?"

James sighed. "That I don't know. Maybe talking to Sirius is the only way you will ever answer that question."

"I'm not ready. I need time to think." Remus' voice was barely audible.

"Remus, you're one of my best mates, but you've got to figure out where you stand with this and sit down with him - either to hear him out to tell him that it's all over – that you can't be his friend. It's not fair to leave him hanging like this. It's not fair to any of us," James finished.

Remus rose and came to stand beside his friend. His expression was at once frustrated and sad. "You know, James, you're right: none of this is fair. And it's not my intent to punish Sirius for anything; I know full well that no one does a better job of punishing him than he himself can. There is nothing about this situation that I find satisfying or enjoyable. Nothing. Don't you think that I, too, would give anything to have things back the way they were before? What I find particularly difficult to manage right now is the fact that all of you seem to think that I'm the problem. My unwillingness to forgive Sirius for what he did and step back into our roles as Marauders – best mates – is seen as the major roadblock here. I've become the self-pitying werewolf who can't see beyond his own angst and is dragging his feet in coming up with a resolution that will work for everyone. But you don't understand the first thing about any of this, James, although I thought certainly that you did. It's not that I'm throwing aside five years of friendship and focusing on one foolish act. I can't focus on anything else but the past five years. I thought Sirius was my friend – my best friend – one who had done more than simply overlook my condition; he accepted it. He accepted me. He wouldn't allow me to wallow in the wolf – and he badgered all of you to become Animagi with him to make sure that the wolf didn't pull me under. This remarkable boy led me to believe that I deserved the friendship of other wizards – that I could be trusted, Dark Creature that I am. He pushed and the rest of you joined him. Sirius was the leader in all of it and despite everything I'd experienced prior to coming to this school – all the cruelty shown to me and to my parents because of what I am – I believed him. I let myself actually believe." Remus closed his eyes, clenching his hands into fists by his sides as he tried to bring his harsh breathing under control. It took several minutes before he spoke again; when he did his voice was much quieter, much calmer and tinged with an incredible sadness. "I let myself believe him," he repeated. "And look where it's led. I was worthy of his friendship, his protection, his loyalty – until an opportunity arose that was worth more to him than I was. How easily I ceased to be 'friend' and became, instead, weapon. Five years, James. For all of that time, I never suspected he was anything other than what he presented himself to be: my friend. Because of Sirius, I allowed myself to believe that I could actually have friends. He pestered an eleven year-old boy until he'd knocked down every single wall I'd built up around me. I've experienced betrayal at the hands of those far less important to me than Sirius has been – and much more quickly. Because of them, I'd said that I'd always just keep to myself and give up the idea of friendship because – clearly – it wasn't meant to be. But as awful as those experiences were, none of those people ever used the wolf – used me to hurt another person. The worst they did was … well, I'm not sure that it matters what they did. In the context of this conversation, it's what they didn't do that counts, I suppose." Remus looked curiously at his friend in the quickly fading sunlight. "Do you understand a bit better now?"

James had listened quietly as Remus spoke. He realized that until this moment, he had known only bits and pieces of the facts of Remus' earlier life. And he'd never really spent a great deal of time thinking about what having the three of them meant to Remus. Hearing all of this articulated by his friend, and having it all tied into the current problem with Sirius did bring things into a sharper focus – and he nodded. He was bitterly sorry for both of his friends – and realized that perhaps it was more complicated than the simple confrontation he had proposed. Suddenly, another thought occurred to him.

"So, are you reconsidering your friendships with everyone else? With me? Peter? Lily? Kate? Do you think we're going to let you down at some point, too?" James asked.

Remus smiled sadly. "You can see my dilemma."

"So because Padfoot fucked up, you think the rest of us will?" James felt his face flush with indignation. "We are the last people you should ever think would hurt you like that!"

Remus shoved his hands in his pockets as he turned to head back to the castle. "Sirius was the last person I ever thought would hurt me."

XXXXXXXX

On his way back to the school, James came to one important decision regarding his conversation with Remus. To begin, he discarded his first instinct, which was to gather Lily and Kate and relate all he'd learned from their friend. James never considered pulling Sirius into that initial discussion, as James really didn't know quite how to tell the already-upset wizard everything Remus had said. Lily would insist that he speak with Sirius to encourage him to go directly to Remus. Kate would probably go right to Sirius herself, saving him the trouble. Neither scenario was palatable so he resolved to say nothing to anyone until he'd muddled it out on his own.

Climbing the steep hill that led from the lake to the courtyard and front entrance of the castle, James' mind replayed the earlier encounter with Remus. He felt a small stab of guilt for so quickly identifying Remus as the only problem without spending much time thinking about why the werewolf continued to distance himself from Sirius. I should have known Remus wouldn't do anything to deliberately punish Sirius. I know him better than that.

Having reached the top of the slope, James dropped down onto the soft, moist grass. He stared out toward Hagrid's hut standing far in the distance, but his mind continued to churn. He doubted that Sirius realized how much damage the Prank had done, although perhaps that wasn't an accurate assessment. Sirius knew the damage; perhaps the truer statement was that he didn't know the impact his actions had had on Remus. Sirius and Remus had discussed this whole mess with everyone but each other – at least in the months after their first, disastrous attempt at conversation. Remus had certainly left no doubt in anyone's mind that he had no intention of giving Sirius an opportunity to speak with him anytime soon. James recalled Dumbledore's words to Sirius at dinner that evening.

"Sometimes we must create opportunities, Mr. Black."

Was Dumbledore subtly encouraging Sirius to push Remus for a resolution to their current standoff? Sirius wanted the chance to speak with his former friend and was becoming more and more anxious as each day passed without doing so. Knowing the young wizard as he did, James knew that it was only a matter of time before "anxious" became "desperate" – and it was bound to be a very short time frame before that happened. And as he had previously shown, a desperate Sirius was nearly impossible to reason with or control.

Or - was Dumbledore's message somehow directed at them all? James shook his head. That would be the worst thing to do to Remus, in his estimation. Having the four of them putting their heads together to come up with a plan felt too much like they would be ganging up on their friend and Remus would certainly come to that same conclusion. Surely, Dumbledore had thought of that.

"Merlin! When did things get this bloody complicated?" James hadn't realized he'd spoken the thought aloud until a deep voice sounded behind him.

"It's been my experience that the complications often set in once we expand our social circles beyond that of our immediate families." James jumped at the sound and turned as Dumbledore sat next to him. "In other words, when we begin to find our own friends." He smiled at James. "I didn't intend to startle you; forgive me."

"It's ok," James nodded. "I was thinking and didn't hear you."

"Yes, you appeared quite lost in thought as I approached."

"Did you need me for something, sir?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "No, not exactly. I often walk the grounds of an evening – particularly if I have something on my mind that needs sorting out. I find a leisurely stroll untangles my thoughts quite nicely." He peered at James sharply. "When I happened upon you sitting out here on your own, I found myself wondering if you were not perhaps doing the same thing."

"I just had a conversation with Remus," James confessed.

"Ah; I wondered if that might not have been your intent when you left school awhile ago."

"Sir, is there anything you don't know?" James blurted out, then felt his face flush as he realized to whom he was speaking. "No offense intended," he mumbled.

Dumbledore chuckled. "None taken, James; none taken at all. Actually, there is a great deal that I do not know; that's what keeps life interesting: the ability – and the desire - to continue to learn new things. I'll confess that I wish I did know how this business between Messrs. Black and Lupin will resolve itself."

"Or if it ever will resolve itself," James added. "It doesn't sound too promising at the moment."

Dumbledore sighed. "Our friend Mr. Lupin sets great store by trust – as I'm sure you already realize. It is a gift to receive the trust of another, particularly when the giver does not do so easily. Trust must be carefully guarded, carefully protected. Once lost, it is most difficult to recover – as Mr. Black has sadly discovered."

"Remus explained things a bit better tonight. I understand what this all means to him, but because Sirius betrayed his trust, he thinks that any of us could do the same. Professor, we would never do that to him," James said earnestly.

"Words Remus has heard before, no doubt – or worse, a sentiment he has been able to infer from the actions of those who later proved less than sincere," the Headmaster said, his smile sad. "Given everything else that boy has experienced in his short lifetime, the issue of trust will inform everything he does."

James shook his head. "But he's so fixated on the past that he can't – or won't – allow himself to sit down and confront what's happening now. It's like Remus has made his decision and there's no changing him."

"When I learned that Remus would be coming back to school early as well, it seemed that there might be an opportunity for things to be resolved before the new term began," Dumbledore said quietly. "The rift amongst the four of you boys was most apparent in the months following the incident with Mr. Snape; too many students were distracted by it – including all of you."

"Sir, are you suggesting that we all try to find a way to make the two of them sit down and talk this through?" James was prepared to make his argument based on his earlier opinion of such a plan.

"I think that I might have joined you this evening with that thought in mind, but now I think it would be quite the wrong road to take. The last thing Remus needs right now is to feel as if his friends have banded together to confront him. He might feel a bit outnumbered. Given the current situation, I think that would come to no good end." Dumbledore rose to his feet with a groan and a rueful smile in James' direction. James, too, stood and waited silently as the old wizard stretched his back a bit before speaking again. "The damp, hard ground and my old bones are not meant to be together," he said. "Come, let's walk back to the castle together." As the pair traversed the remaining distance to the castle at a leisurely pace, Dumbledore spoke again about the problem at hand. "Perhaps the worst thing any of us can do is to force this issue directly with either party and, instead, allow their individual natures to take their respective courses. After you'd left the castle this evening, Sirius was making some rather broad hints about perhaps relocating to another room for the remainder of the summer holiday. I chose to ignore them in favor of leaving him with you and Remus, in hopes that they might have the conversation they both need to have. I'm not certain that my decision was the best one in view of our chat."

James' eyebrows rose appreciably. "But, Professor, how will separating them prompt any kind of conversation?"

"I have an idea," the old wizard said. "And, before you say anything, I will remind you that I said you four plotting to get them to talk to each other was a poor idea. I said nothing about interference from their Headmaster."

"What are you going to do, Sir?"

"Ah, here we are," Dumbledore said as they reached the front doors of the school. He raised his hand in a sweeping gesture and both doors swung inward, allowing them to walk right through. "Do you know, James, I always say that in any journey, the return trip seems so much shorter than the first half; don't you agree?"

"Sir? What does that have to do with …?"

"Goodnight, James. I hope you enjoy the rest of your evening. I wonder; when you see Sirius, could you please send him to my office? Thank you." And he was off, moving at a speed that would never be associated with a normal wizard of his age. James snorted as he turned toward the staircase.

"No one could confuse Dumbledore with a normal wizard," he muttered as he raced up the stairs, hoping the staircase would remain in its place until he reached his destination.

XXXXXXXX

"You wanted to see me, Sir?"

"Ah, Sirius; yes, indeed. Thank you for being so prompt," Dumbledore gestured toward the chair in front of his desk. "Please, sit down."

Sirius nodded and did as he was asked, almost overwhelmed with curiosity. He knew from experience, however, that Dumbledore would not be hurried and would speak when he was ready.

"Licorice snap?" the headmaster offered a crystal dish filled with snapping black candies.

"No, thank you," he said, having learned his lesson after one of the candies had snapped itself to the lobe of one ear, requiring a trip to the hospital wing to have it magically removed.

"Unpredictable, but delicious," Dumbledore announced as he selected one from the dish and popped it into his mouth. After he'd consumed the sweet, he looked at Sirius over the top of his spectacles.

"I've given some additional thought to your request to move into another dormitory for the remainder of the holiday. It had been my hope that by residing in the same dormitory as Mr. Lupin, the two of you might be able to resolve things more quickly – for better or for worse. It does not seem that this will be the case. As such, I am going to recant my earlier decision and allow you to move into other accommodations," Dumbledore said quietly.

"Thank you, Sir," Sirius said, his voice reflecting his surprise.

"As I'm sure you appreciate, the other dormitory rooms are receiving their annual cleaning by the House Elves and so are not available to you. I am certain you are familiar with a room known as, "the Room of Requirement", are you not?"

Sirius nodded. "I am. I won't lie to you, Sir; I spent the last weeks of the spring term there."

Dumbledore smiled. "I thought as much, but I thank you for your candor. You may move there tonight if you'd like, but before you do, I have something I would like you to do."

Oh no. Sirius instinctively knew this wasn't good. "Yes, sir?"

"I believe that your friends were unaware of where you had gone when you left the dormitory last term, would that be the case?"

"Yes, sir. You see, they – well, that is to say we were not getting on very well…" Sirius began.

"And it was difficult to be there, of course. I do think, however, that since things have been resolved between you, you should reassure Mr. Potter that your move has nothing to do with him," Dumbledore interjected.

"James will realize that, Professor. We've talked it all over and …"

Again, Dumbledore jumped in. "…and in fairness to both of your dorm-mates, you must also let Mr. Lupin know that you are leaving – and why."

Sirius' mouth closed with a pop. He simply stared at Dumbledore, who calmly stared right back at him. The younger wizard finally found his voice. "I can't 'let Mr. Lupin know'," he said. "He won't talk to me; won't listen to me. You know that. You saw it at dinner. You heard him. He…"

"There are other ways of communicating, Sirius. You must find one that works. If you are determined to re-establish your friendship with Mr. Lupin, you must take every opportunity that presents itself. You feel that your presence in the dorm room is making both of you uncomfortable and want to do something to alleviate it. Admirable. Mr. Lupin appears unwilling to have the conversation that would do so. Therefore, you feel that leaving the dormitory is the acceptable alternative. Fine, however you owe it to your friends to tell them that you are going – and why. If you leave but say nothing, you do nothing to convince Mr. Lupin you've changed from the boy you were at the end of last term. You know that."

"Yes, sir," Sirius said, reluctantly.

"You know, Sirius, I have granted your request but it does not mean that I think it is the best way to resolve things. I will confess, however, that I am somewhat at a loss as to how that can be accomplished. There is a part of me that says allowing you to leave Gryffindor Tower is hugely counterproductive. There is another part, however, that believes that by allowing you to go, we eliminate the chance that close quarters would drive a further wedge between you. You can appreciate the difficulty, I'm sure," Dumbledore said.

Sirius nodded but remained quiet for several minutes. Sensing that the young wizard had something further on his mind, Dumbledore waited him out. Finally,

"Do you think I'm a coward for moving out?"

Dumbledore smiled. "I would be hard put to call you a coward for any reason, my boy. Why do you ask?"

Sirius ran his hands through his hair as he tried to organize his thoughts. Unable to sit still any longer, he rose and started to pace in front of the headmaster's desk, head down, focused entirely on making sense of what he wanted to say. He finally came to a stop in front of Fawkes' perch, although he didn't pay attention to the dozing phoenix, instead facing Dumbledore as he began to speak.

"I know that what I did was stupid – sending Snape to the shack, I mean. I didn't think – something I'm known for – and allowed anger to take over. That was cowardly. I've thought about that night over and over again until I can't think anymore and if I had it to do over again, I'd like to believe that I would do it differently. The thing is, Professor, when I moved out last term, I did it because I couldn't take being ignored any more. Peter, James and Remus had made it clear enough that they didn't want to have anything to do with me and I just couldn't live there any longer." Sirius stopped and took a deep breath.

"And now?" Dumbledore prompted quietly.

Sirius looked the older wizard directly in the eye. "Now, I'm leaving partially because it's uncomfortable for me, but mostly because I know that by being there, I'm making Remus uncomfortable."

Dumbledore nodded. "It's admirable that you would like to alleviate Remus' discomfort, but I cannot see how it's possible to do so. I also do not necessarily agree that it's your responsibility to try." Sirius' eyebrows rose in surprise and the headmaster smiled. "That shocks you, doesn't it?"

"I created the problem; I'm responsible for fixing it."

"Yes, and you've tried. Repeatedly. And been rebuffed for your efforts. Remus, it seems, isn't interested in fixing the problem. How is his discomfort anything but his own problem to solve in that case?" Dumbledore's outward expression didn't change but his eyes were keenly trained on Sirius' face as he waited for him to process what had been said. He didn't have long to wait.

"But … this is my fault," Sirius said quietly. "It's down to me to make it right."

"If that is your decision, I commend you for it," Dumbledore said. "But I caution you to prepare yourself to accept whatever may come from your attempts. Simply attempting to make things right does not mean that you will be successful."

Sirius felt his heart sink at the headmaster's words. He was not prepared to lose Remus as a friend. They had been through too much together; the idea that four would become three or worse – that the Marauders would disappear forever – was wrenching.

"You think that it's all pointless, then; no matter what I do, the friendship is well over because of me." The boy's voice broke slightly at the end and he cleared his throat to try to cover the sound.

Sirius felt a nudge against his shoulder and looked down to see Fawkes pushing his brilliant scarlet head against him. He reached up and stroked the phoenix' feathers gently, feeling calmer at the quiet, soothing trill that issued from the beautiful bird's throat. Sirius continued to stroke the bird, quietly thrilled when Fawkes hopped from his perch to rest on Sirius' arm. The young wizard looked over at the headmaster, who smiled gently in response.

"The Phoenix have remarkable magical powers, you know," Dumbledore rose and came around to where Sirius was standing. "Their very presence can create a feeling of calm where there is turmoil and their tears can heal even the deadliest of wounds. They are loyal to a fault to those they love and will fight fiercely on their behalf. They share their magical gifts until they simply cannot do so any longer. Once they have been depleted, they burst into flame and rise from those ashes a new incarnation of themselves. There are those – myself among them - who believe that the newly re-born Phoenix are imbued with the knowledge, love and regard given to them in their former life – and are strengthened by it to move forward into the next." The headmaster stroked Fawkes' wing and the great bird leaned into the touch. "It is a lesson that applies to us all, I think. We all grow and change from the people we once were. It is a natural part of life. Oh, we don't do it quite as spectacularly as our friend here, but we leave pieces of our former selves behind as we evolve. And sometimes, our relationships have to die before they can be reborn into what they are meant to become."

Fawkes nudged Sirius' hand, which had stilled as he'd listened to the headmaster.

"It would appear that you've made a new friend," Dumbledore observed, smiling.

Sirius nodded. "Maybe I'll come back and visit him again after I've settled things with an old one," he said, watching as Fawkes flew up onto Dumbledore's shoulder. "Thank you, Professor."

"You're quite welcome, my boy, but I've done nothing," came the gentle response.

"Hmm, I don't know about that," Sirius replied. "I think I'll head back to the dorm, if we're finished here."

"Not moving after all?"

Sirius shook his head. "Not at the moment. I'll tell you if that changes. For right now, I think I'll stay where I am and … see what evolves." He smiled and turned toward the door.

Dumbledore watched him go with a smile tempered by visible concern. He extended his arm toward Fawkes' perch and his familiar returned to it, trilling softly as the headmaster made his way back to his desk.

"We've done what we can, Fawkes. Now we wait and see."