Summary: Remus made a promise to Lily that he intends to keep. An egg swap gift for Elizabeth – I hope you enjoy it. (A what if Peter had been caught immediately)

Should've Made an Effort

Remus knelt down in the damp grass by the border, the knees of his trousers soaking to the skin quickly. He could still smell rain in the air as he started turning the soil. He'd been meaning to plant the seeds for a couple of weeks, but the rain had been non-stop for a week and then the full moon was approaching, and he was never any good to anyone on the days leading up to it.

But he was here now, his muscles aching from the previous night's transformation. Remus leant into the pain, refusing to stop until he was done. He'd promised Lily he would do this for her, something to look at when the spring months approached. Maybe it was good that it had been raining so much, the ground was softer, easy to move around with the trowel.

Suddenly it wasn't enough to use the trowel, or even to attempt using his wand instead. Remus threw it to one side, it went clattering across the nearby stone path, and he dug his hands into the soil, pulling at the odd weed and relishing the feel of the dirt getting buried under his nails.

His hands were shaking by the time Remus started shaking the seeds into the soil, scattering them haphazardly, some of them falling over his lap. A fat drop of rain landed on the back of his hand. He looked at it with a frown – he was nearly done, no good stopping now.

Once he'd scooped the soil back into place, levelling it out with the edge of his hands, he stood up on shaky legs, his muscles protesting at having sat in the same position so long. Remus stared at the ground, checking that it was neat and there were no errant weeds to strangle the flowers before they had chance.

"Remus?" a gentle, comforting voice said behind him. His favourite voice in the whole world. "Remus, my love." He heard the sympathy in Sirius' voice.

"How long have you been there?" Remus asked, still staring at the ground.

A pair of arms wrapped around his waist, feeling Sirius rest his cheek against his neck, and he held on tightly. "I've got dirty hands," Remus warned.

Sirius blindly found them, keeping one hand around his waist, and whispered, "Scourgify."

"Show off," Remus muttered, smiling a little. He clung onto Sirius' hand. "I promise … I promised Lily…" He swallowed, the lump in his throat stopping him from explaining any more.

"I know." Sirius pulled his arms away, moving to stand in front of Remus. "She'd have loved them."

Remus nodded, a numbness creeping in as Sirius put a hand on his chest. "We can't have known. We all trusted Peter."

Remus nodded again. "I know, but I promised her weeks ago. I should've done it then."

Sirius sighed. "I promised James I would help him build a treehouse for Harry." He pointed to the large tree on the otherwise of the front garden. "I kept dragging my feet because he wouldn't let me use magic."

Remus looked around at the small village of Godric's Hollow, now largely inhabited by Muggles. "We should've made an effort."

"We will." Sirius pulled Remus to him, placing a firm kiss on his lips as the heavens opened.

They jumped apart in shock at how cold the raindrops were, their first proper laugh coming from both of them in days, and started running to their new home, across the village. Their laughter echoed across the empty streets as they reached their house, completely soaked, hearing Harry laughing in the living room.

"Here they are!" Molly Weasley's voice travelled to them.

"Anything Harry wants or need, we do it immediately," Remus said to Sirius, still standing at the front door.

"Anything," Sirius promised.

WC 634