Remus sat back in his seat. As he smoked, he slid the little book carefully away into his inside coat pocket, wishing he could mutter a quick spell to make it even more secure. A quick glance at his watch told him it would be less than an hour before they reached Edinburgh.

He stubbed his cigarette out. The bad muggle habit was a small ritual that had outlived everything else, a little piece of the home he had made at Hogwarts. James' face when he had whipped out the packet in their dormitory was still etched into Remus' mind, the way they had tried to smoke the whole pack in one go and Remus' lungs had burnt, and Peter had lost his voice, and James had been sick over the side of his bed into his satchel.

Smoking had become a small, secret way for them to rebel, a link with the outside world, and a daring slice of muggle life that had made Remus feel pride at the fact that he was a half-blood.

But he did not have time for reminiscing. He had to stop getting distracted and focus on what he was to do next.

A young muggle couple walked past the glass door with their arms full of sandwiches and bottles of pop. Remus was hungry himself, and he regretted not stealing the muggle money after all so he could go to the buffet car and get himself a snack.

The man on the other side of the compartment had tilted his body towards Remus so he could lean against the wall of the compartment. The front page was now facing towards Remus, and he could not avoid reading the glaring headline staring back at him.

NOTORIOUS WEREWOLF EXECUTED was printed in large letters.Underneath a photograph displayed the cold, dead eyes of Fenrir Greyback, set into a head that was no longer connected to his body.

Remus looked up at the man holding the newspaper with wide eyes. It was just Remus' luck that he would get into a compartment with the only other wizard on the train. He felt an itch within him to make a break for it right there and then, but the headline…

'Can I…?' Remus started. His voice cracked, and he had to clear his throat. 'Sorry, but would you mind if I borrow your newspaper for a minute?'

The man looked up at Remus like a dear caught in the headlights. He lowered the paper, turned it to look at the front page, then tried to hide it quickly by folding it in half and tucking it under his arm.

He would not meet Remus' gaze. 'Erm, sorry,' he said, in a well-spoken voice that had an attractive, flowing quality to it. 'I don't know if that's…'

'I'm a wizard,' Remus blurted out.

The man's head snapped up and he stared at Remus for several seconds before he visibly deflated with relief. 'Oh, thank Merlin for that! I was just about to do a runner.'

His face broke out into an intoxicating smile. He had pronounced canine teeth that gave his face a rakish quality, and the way his dark hair fell down in waves towards his shoulders made Remus want to do a runner himself, if only to hide the heat he could feel steadily creeping its way onto his cheeks.

'That makes so much more sense,' the man continued, tossing his hair back out of his face. 'I did a muggle-repelling charm on the compartment and then you came wandering in. I thought I'd done shoddy magic.'

Remus laughed awkwardly. 'I should've known too. The rest of the train is so packed they're practically sitting on top of each other.'

The beautiful man smiled at him. He had the most intense, bewitching silvery-grey eyes Remus had ever seen, and it was all Remus could do to snap his gaze away quickly and politely ask again for the paper.

'Course, here you go,' the man said, stretching out his arm and passing it to Remus.

Remus thanked him and opened it back up to the front cover.

NOTORIOUS WEREWOLF EXECUTED

The werewolf Fenrir Greyback was yesterday arrested in front of Gringotts Bank. Officials from the Ministry have reported that Greyback was taken to a holding cell, where he was convicted without trial and subsequently executed.

Greyback has been notorious amongst the British magical community for years, owing to –

Remus did not bother to read on about Greyback's various crimes. He knew it all already.

The photograph was even more horrific up close. How, Remus wondered, had they been allowed to publish it? And perhaps You-Know-Who did not have any sway at the ministry after all, if they had managed to murder one of his most useful henchmen. Had it been worth it to show the public the Ministry was still on their side?

Was it a personal message for Remus, showing him what the Ministry would do to him when they caught up with him?

Remus could not deny that he was happy to see the back of Greyback. For once he had reason to thank the Ministry's blatantly corrupt and authoritarian system. The bastard was finally dead, but the implications of this did not bode well for Remus, or for any others like him.

By law, prisoners were never executed in Britain, but Greyback had not been a person, he had been a werewolf. He had been put down like a feral dog in the dark ages, his head chopped off with an axe.

Remus skimmed his eyes down to another headline halfway down the page.

NEW WEREWOLF LEGISLATION INTRODUCED

The implementation of new werewolf legislation, brought into effect today, means werewolves will no longer be at liberty to roam the country freely. Aurors are being instructed to apprehend all werewolves they come into contact with, and to seek out those that may be evading capture. This is in conjunction with a new re-education program introduced by the Ministry that will aim to –

A chill came over Remus so drastically that he felt the hairs on his arms immediately stand on end. Regulus had been right. The Ministry was coming for every werewolf in the country. Remus was now a wanted man, purely for the fact that he existed.

'Good news, isn't it?'

Remus snapped out of his revery and looked up at the wizard across from him. He had leant back in his seat, one leg up at an angle, balancing his ankle on his thigh.

'What?' Remus asked dumbly.

The dark-haired man nodded at the paper. 'That Greyback character. He was a nasty piece of work.'

Remus nodded slowly, feeling completely dazed. He looked back down at the photograph where the werewolf from his nightmares was still leering out at him even from death. 'We'll sleep better in our beds tonight,' he said quietly.

Would this be the end of all the regret now, the bad feeling between him and his father? Probably not. Remus would probably still wake up every so often in a cold sweat, hearing the echoing smashing of glass, the screams of his mother, and feeling phantom pangs of pain in his shoulder like a thousand hot pokers melting his skin. But it was a start. The threat was not real anymore. Maybe with time…

'You make a convincing muggle,' commented the man.

Remus looked up at him again and could not help but stare.

When Remus did not reply in good time, the man shifted in his seat before apparently deciding to try a different angle of conversation. 'You going all the way to Edinburgh?'

Remus nodded slowly, feeling completely lost for words.

'Any interesting plans?'

Remus blinked, and then nodded, remembering where he was. He was now a werewolf-at-large, and this man was a wizard. Remus had to get away. He had to play it cool. He had to focus. But how could he, after all the information he had just absorbed? The horcruxes, the new laws, Greyback… it was almost too much to bear, and he felt a sudden urge to smash his head against the train window.

'Just hoping to meet an old friend,' Remus replied.

The man nodded slowly. Merlin, he was handsome. The line of his jaw was something Remus could have sat and admired all day, not to mention the sharp angle of his shoulders beneath his leather jacket. He had shapely black brows framing eyes the same colour as the bright, swirling grey of the clouds outside the window.

When the silence went on a little too long, the man's expression took on a quizzical air. Remus knew he was staring, and the quirk of the man's mouth told Remus he had noticed the attention.

Remus cleared his throat. 'Erm, what about you, any plans?'

The man smiled again as soon as Remus spoke. 'Oh, I'm working,' he said blandly, waving a hand, and something else struck Remus, an odd, removed kind of familiarity.

'I've never been to Scotland before,' continued the beautiful man. 'Not sure what there is to do up there.'

'There's loads to do,' Remus said distractedly, scanning his face.

The man quirked an eyebrow at him. 'Oh yeah?'

'Yeah, if you know where to go.' The phrase sounded much more suggestive than Remus had meant it, but he liked the effect it had on the man, the way his mouth split into a grin.

Remus decided, for that small moment, to forget everything and simply relax into the interaction. It had been so long since he had had even a flirtatious chat, let alone anything else. He grinned back.

'I'm Remus, by the way. Remus Lupin.'

'Sirius Black,' said the man, sitting forward and holding out his hand.

Remus has been reaching out his own hand, but it stopped in mid-air as the man's words sank in.

Well, fuck me, Remus thought, as he closed the distance and shook Sirius' hand.

Regulus Black had been softer in his face, his eyes larger and more innocent, despite what Remus knew about his exploits, but their eye colour was the same, their hair colour, and even the line of their noses.

Sirius' hand was warm and firm, his face open and approachable. Regulus' words from the night before came back to Remus. What had he said exactly? Something like, 'My dearest big brother disowned me when I joined the Death Eaters. You'd probably like him.'

Remus nodded with a smile, letting his hand drop. 'Were we… at school together?' He of course knew they had not been, but Remus still felt lost for words and did not really know what else to say.

Sirius settled back onto the long seat, a little closer to Remus than he had been before. 'I don't think so. I never went to Hogwarts. My parents sent me to Beauxbatons.'

Remus nodded, leaning forwards instinctively. 'How come?'

Sirius shrugged, looking rakish again as he smiled. 'I was a bit wayward as a child. My parents were worried Hogwarts would expose me to the wrong kind of influences.' He waved his hand again. 'Don't ask me to explain their crazed notions.'

'Crazed?' Remus asked with a smile.

Sirius pulled his ankle up onto his knee again and shrugged good-naturedly. 'The words "pureblood mania" come to mind, but that might be understating things.' He laughed to himself.

Remus found that interesting, and he was pleased that it aligned with what Regulus had said about his brother.

'You didn't miss home, living over there?' Remus wondered, wanting to keep the conversation going.

'Well,' Sirius said, considering, before he said with relish, 'unfortunately the French aren't quite as punk rock as us, but,' he said, then glanced at Remus, his eyes slightly calculating, and something about Remus' expression must have encouraged him, because he went on to say, 'what my parents didn't think about was how much more laid back they are when it comes to… sexual expression.'

Remus was immediately terrified he was going to melt into the floor. He could only grin back stupidly at this wonderful specimen of a man.

'Maybe I shouldn't have been so stuck on Hogwarts all those years ago,' Remus commented.

Sirius looked delighted with Remus' reply.

'Beauxbatons,' Remus contemplated, more than willing to up the flirtatious ante himself. 'That must mean you speak wicked French.' He tried not to imagine the man whispering some into his ear.

As if Sirius could read his thoughts, he offered Remus a knowing smile. 'Oh, I'm painfully, painfully fluent.'

'I can imagine it suits you.'

'Oh yeah?' Sirius pressed.

At any other time, Remus might have refrained from smiling too widely in case it showed the gap in his back teeth, but he found that in that moment he did not care.

'I'm surprised you came back,' he commented, and then regretted it at once. He could hear the defeated note in his own voice. 'Erm, you know, what with the way things are at the moment.'

Sirius' expression became a lot more sombre, and Remus wanted to kick himself. If there was ever a way to kill the mood…

Remus knew what side Sirius was on, or at least knew he did not sympathise with the Death Eaters, but there was no way for Sirius to know where Remus stood. With a steely resolve Remus decided to say, 'You-Know-Who and his cronies are causing more and more trouble by the day.'

He was not surprised when Sirius' shot Remus an analytical look, his gaze flicking between Remus' eyes as if searching for the lie. It was understandable. After all, a statement like that could still be said in an attempt to catch someone else out. It was a symptom of the climate of fear You-Know-Who had so artfully created.

Remus sat up straighter. 'What I'm trying to say is, You-Know-Who is a wannabe-dictator, and I don't care who I say it to, not anymore.' The panic of being locked away forever bubbled in his stomach, but he pushed it back down, determined not to let it squash him. 'I wish the evil snakey bastard was wiped off the face of the Earth.'

His thoughts snapped back to the little black book in his pocket, the book with all the answers.

As nice as it was to flirt with Sirius Black, Remus could not stay in a dream land forever. The black book had to be his purpose now. He had to keep on, no matter how hard it got. If he was going to die like poor Regulus, murdered in some dark corner of the world, he was going do all he could to bring You-Know-Who down with him.

And yet, was Sirius as disconnected as Remus was claiming? His own brother had died for the very thing Remus was now fighting for. That could never be insignificant.

When Remus looked back at Sirius, the man was watching Remus with both surprise and with what Remus suspected, or at least hoped, was a newfound respect.

Remus leant back in his seat, trying to act nonchalant. 'So, yes, anyway. I'm surprised you came back.'

Sirius leant forwards on his knees and shot a glance out of the window, as if some how they were being watched through it. It was only half past three, but the winter day was one of the shortest of the year, and already the sky was darkening. The train was winding its way along the east coast, so close to the sea that if Remus concentrated, he could spot gulls nesting on the cliffs.

'I have to be careful what I say,' Sirius intoned quietly, 'but that's actually one of the reasons I came back. I want to fight. I didn't want to run off into the French sunset and leave my country to rot.'

He's a better man than me, Remus reflected. Remus was only playing this part now because he had nothing left to lose, and because Regulus had put the reins firmly into his hands.

'I shouldn't have said any of that,' Sirius said, sitting up and rubbing his palms on his trousers. 'I'm an auror and we've got to…'

There was a buzzing noise, and the electric lighting flared on in the compartment.

'You're an auror?' Remus asked at once, his pleasure in the conversation vanishing.

Sirius nodded. 'Well, trainee, but it's the same thing these days.' He sighed. 'I thought I would be able to help the Ministry stay on top of things, catch the "snakey bastards" as you so eloquently put it,' he shot Remus a half-hearted smile, 'but things aren't going the way I thought they would.'

Sirius looked down at his hands, frowning, completely unaware that Remus' organs felt like they were dissolving inside him. Merlin, he could not cope with it all. He was being hunted for the murderer of Regulus Black, the brother of the man now sat across from him, the brother who was an auror and clearly not a very good one because he was saying all this to Remus, a stranger, when there were Death Eaters everywhere, even in Sirius' own ranks, watching his every move.

And even if Regulus had not been in the picture, if Regulus and Remus had never met, Remus was still a werewolf, the very thing Sirius was now supposed to hunt down and apprehend.

Remus had to get off the train as soon as he could, but it was the limited service straight to Edinburgh, and there were no more stops.

'Are there more of you on the train?' Remus asked.

And he wanted to kick himself, because already he was giving too much away, falling into a panic. As he suspected, the tone of his voice had been telling, because Sirius glanced up at him, raising his eyebrows in surprise when he saw Remus' face.

'Relax, relax. I'm not going to arrest you.'

Taking a quiet breath in, Remus let his face relax into a smile. Shaking his hair out of his eyes, he sent Sirius an apologetic look. 'Sorry, that came out wrong. I just meant I'm surprised you're not all sitting together if you're all on a work outing.'

Sirius was watching him bemusedly, but he did not sound suspicious when he replied. 'Well, it's just me and my superior, and when I left him, he was stuffing his face in the buffet car and attempting to chat up the poor woman opposite.' Sirius shrugged, tapping his foot on the floor. 'Not really my scene.'

Remus folded up the forgotten newspaper on his lap just for something to do and handed it back to Sirius.

Sirius flicked his eyes towards Remus, up his arm and past his shoulder and neck to his face, before looking quickly away. 'We usually get the evenings to ourselves, on work trips like this.'

He paused. Remus waited patiently for him to continue, because otherwise he did not have a clue what the man was talking about.

'I was wondering if you… ah…' Sirius smiled sheepishly. 'Do you fancy, once we get to Edinburgh, maybe, going for a pint?' He cleared his throat and laughed awkwardly under his breath. 'A drink, I mean. We could meet somewhere, a pub or...'

Remus, whose mind kept flitting back to thinking of ways of avoiding his own imminent arrest, was completely taken aback.

'Meet somewhere?'

Sirius nodded. He was smiling openly, but there was a nervous look in his eyes.

Remus thought back over what Sirius had said. 'For a pint, or a drink?' he asked slowly.

'Aren't they the same thing?' Sirius parried, laughing again.

Remus had just enough presence of mind left in him to smirk and shake his head. 'They're not the same thing.'

'They are, kind of…'

'Which one is it?' Remus asked, keeping his tone light, but waiting with bated breath for the answer. 'Are you inviting me out for a pint, or a drink?'

Sirius caught Remus' eye. 'A… drink. Would you like to go for a drink with me?'

Remus could not help it; he grinned stupidly. 'I would love that.' The way Sirius' shoulders slumped with relief made Remus smile all the more.

Sirius straightened his back and tossed his hair over his shoulder, clearly trying to regain his composure. His pale skin contrasted beautifully with his dark jacket, and the curve of his neck was so…

Life isn't fair, screamed a voice inside Remus' head. It sounded like an echo of James when Gryffindor had just lost at quidditch.

Remus wanted to go on a date with the beautiful man. They got on so well already. He seemed funny, cool, cheeky even… but no, Remus could never have anything as good as all that.

'The thing is, Sirius,' Remus started, putting his hand into his inside pocket to check the little black book was still there. 'I would love to go out with you, but… I don't think I'll be able to.'

Sirius's smile fell at once. He looked like a puppy that had just had his favourite toy taken away. 'Oh.'

Remus knew Sirius was not with the Death Eaters. Sirius had disowned his own brother over it. Could Remus tell him? It seemed like such a moment of fate that they had met like this. Was it a sign that Remus should get him on side, or was he just so desperate for help and companionship that he would risk everything on a whim?

Now Remus thought about it, Sirius was being very chipper for someone who had just lost their brother. Remus realised that the man did not know yet. He had not been told. He was going about his usual life, whilst all this stuff was happening below the surface.

Would Sirius be a target now, because his brother had betrayed his master? Perhaps for that reason, Sirius had a right to know what was going on.

Or was Remus just looking for an excuse again? He wanted so badly to tell Sirius everything, but it would mean revealing he was a werewolf, would it not? Remus could not do that.

And yet, Sirius was an auror, and a seemingly good one. He had to be a skilled wizard, and a dedicated person. If Remus had to tell someone else about Regulus' secrets, to keep the information alive, was there really anyone better?

Remus, for better or worse, decided to go with the feeling in his gut that this was too good an opportunity to miss.

'I have to tell you something,' Remus said quietly.