April 15th, 1972, 10:45 pm

'Remus.' Sirius bent over Remus' sleeping form and whispered into his ear. 'Reeemus. It's time to wake up.'

He pulled his head back sharply as Remus groaned and rolled over. He didn't want to touch him, that would really ruin the mood this evening.

He bent forward again to whisper in the other ear. 'Remus. Oh, Reeemuuus.'

'M'sleeping,' Remus murmured. 'G'way.'

'Nuh uh,' Sirius said. 'You promised to cheer me and James on in the competition.'

'Ugh.' There was a pause and then, 'Bugger.'

'Indeed.'

'A'ight, M'up,' Remus grumbled.

Sirius stepped back from the bed, and Remus pulled himself upright, before regarding him through drooping eyelids. 'S'not fair you makin' me go, y'know.'

'You are extremely incoherent when you're sleepy. Did you know that?' Sirius asked. 'It's adorable.'

'F'ck 'ff,' Remus said, flipping him the middle finger before moving like an inferi in the direction of the bathroom.

'See you soon, sweetie,' Sirius called after him.

James snorted. 'Why do you wind him up like that?'

Sirius shrugged. 'He gets all flustered, it's funny.'

'It'll come back and bite you in the ass one day,' James said. 'He'll flirt back and you'll be so surprised you won't know what to do.'

'Ha!' Sirius laughed. 'Bet you five galleons it never happens.'

'Bet you ten galleons it happens before graduation.'

'Done,' Sirius said, sticking out his hand for James to shake.

Remus emerged from the bathroom looking much more awake, and the Marauders headed down to the common room. Only Sirius and James had signed up for the Midnight Flying Contest. Remus hated flying and Peter had only flown once outside and a few times in the cave at low speeds. He'd enjoyed it, but he didn't want to embarrass himself by trying to compete against more experienced flyers.

James had retrieved his Nimbus 1200 from the cave for the competition, trusting that anyone taking part in an illicit contest wouldn't be the type to report him for having an illegal broom in school, and Sirius hoped he could also use it. The alternative was using one of the school brooms, and they were awful.

There were only around twenty students in the common room, apparently, the high chance of being caught put people off of this event. What a bunch of pansies. The high chance of getting caught was what made it fun.

Sirius found an empty table in the corner of the room and waved Remus into the corner seat before sitting down beside him to protect him from passing students. Remus gave him a small smile in thanks, and James and Peter sat down on Remus' other side to wait.

At eleven pm, two seventh-year students came down from the boy's staircase and called for attention.

'The Chiefs have asked us to take you all down to the contest area. If we get caught on the way there, we won't get to attend, so everyone needs to be really quiet. Understand?'

Everyone confirmed they had heard and understood, and the seventh-years led the way out of the portrait hole and down the stairs. Twenty-five students creeping through the hallways of Hogwarts in the dead of night was a sight to behold, and Sirius found it increasingly difficult not to laugh as they stalked their way closer to the Entrance Hall.

Passing the door to Filch's office was the most nerve-wracking part of the trip. It was impossible to tell if the office was occupied or if Filch was off in another part of the castle. But twenty-five students tiptoed passed his door one at a time, each of them holding their breath, not daring to make a sound.

Finally, they made it out into the open air, but they weren't safe yet. If any teachers happened to be looking out of a window, they'd be caught in an instant. The moon was only a little over half full, but it was a clear night and it provided enough light for them to be seen even in their black school robes.

The older students broke into a run the moment they got outside, obviously already knowing where they were going, and Sirius followed them. James fell into step beside him and grinned. His eyes gleamed with excitement in the moonlight.

'This is brilliant, isn't it?' James said as they ran full pelt across the grass.

'Not as brilliant as sleeping,' Remus panted from behind them. 'We've left Pete behind, you know?'

'He'll catch up,' James said, unconcerned.

They reached the cover of the quidditch pitch and stopped to catch their breath with the rest of the Gryffindors. Peter caught up with them a few minutes later, immediately sitting down on the ground.

'No one said there'd be running. If they had, I'd have stayed in bed.'

'Wait,' Remus said. 'Staying in bed was an option?'

'Not for you,' Sirius said, winking at him. 'I need you in the audience. You're my good luck charm.'

Remus chuckled. 'You're ridiculous,' he said. But Sirius saw his cheeks darken and counted it as a win.

Sirius and James had to say goodbye to Remus and Peter when they entered the stadium. The audience was directed up into the stands, while the competitors were told to wait on the pitch. Sirius watched them go with a touch of concern, but he trusted Peter would keep Remus safe, and there weren't that many people watching, anyway.

Sirius and James joined the other competitors on the pitch. The Slytherins and Hufflepuffs were already there, but there was no one from Ravenclaw yet.

'That's the Gryffindor quidditch captain,' James said, clutching Sirius' arm with excitement and pointing up into the stands. 'Do you think he's here to talent-spot?'

Sirius followed James' finger with his eyes and saw a burly kid with dark hair watching them.

'Possibly.'

'This could be my chance to get on the team,' James said. The fist wrapped around his broom handle was white from gripping too tightly.

'James, relax. You were fucking born to ride a broom. If he can't see that, he doesn't deserve you on his team.'

James pushed his glasses up his nose and grinned. 'You're right. I'm going to be awesome.'

The Chiefs of Raucous Revelry arrived then and strolled over to the waiting competitors.

'Nobody here from Ravenclaw yet?' Chief number one asked.

'Perhaps they got caught on the way down,' Chief number two said. 'We can't wait for them.'

Chief number one shook his head. 'It's a shame, but you're right.' He faced the watching students and rubbed his hands together. 'Right, does anyone need to borrow a broom?'

Sirius raised his hand along with five other students.

'That's great, we have enough.' He waved his wand and said, 'Accio brooms,' and then stepped out of the way as six brooms zoomed towards them from the direction of the changing rooms. 'Catch.'

Sirius barked out a laugh at the surprise challenge and leapt forward, his eyes zooming in on a Nimbus 2100. These weren't school brooms at all, and that one was his. Most of the other students had taken a step or two back in fear of the speeding projectiles, but one other Gryffindor in need of a broom had leapt forward too. Sirius glanced sideways at him. The other boy was bigger, but that would work against him. Sirius had agility on his side.

All this happened in the space of a second, and the brooms sped towards them at a ridiculous speed. The Nimbus 2100 was the fastest broom there, and it inched ahead of the others. Sirius bent his knees and when the brooms were mere feet away, he jumped forwards wrapping his fist around the broom. He stumbled on the landing, having to take several steps to stay upright. But he had a firm grip on his prize.

Sirius turned to see the other Gryffindor had snagged the second-fastest broom and two students were rubbing their stomachs where they'd been hit. The Chiefs of Raucous Revelry gave him an approving look. Had that been another test?

'The first event is a straight-up race,' Chief number two said. He waved his wand and glowing rings of smoke appeared high in the sky, marking out a course. 'If you miss a ring you'll be disqualified, and be careful, because they move.'

Sirius and James grinned at each other. This was going to be a blast.

'The gold ring is the start and the finish. Take your positions and wait for the signal.'

Sirius and James mounted their brooms along with the rest of the competing students.

'May the best Marauder win,' James whispered, giving him a wink before he shot into the sky at an impossible speed.

Sirius chuckled and sped after him, enjoying the feeling of the wind in his hair. As he climbed towards the starting position, he glanced over to the stands. Spotting Remus and Peter sitting together surrounded by empty seats, he gave them a wave. They waved back and Sirius returned his attention to his destination, pulling to a stop beside James.

They waited for everyone else to reach the starting position and then manoeuvred their brooms into a line. When everyone was ready, the Chief's voice bellowed through the night.

'Get ready. Three, two, one, Fly!'

And they were off. Sirius leant forward to make his broom accelerate, and he raced towards the first ring. He and James were neck and neck, and they both turned their heads to grin across the open air at each other. Several other competitors were riding the same broom and were keeping up with them, but after they soared through the first hoop, they had to turn sharply to face the next. Two of the race leaders failed to execute the barrel roll and fell behind.

Sirius let out a whoop as he sank into a dive after the third ring, which itself was speeding towards the ground. All the anxiety that had hung over him for the past few weeks melted away. He was invincible. A cackle of laughter came from James beside him as they approached the ring now sitting mere feet above the ground. Sirius slowed along with the others still beside them, and James pulled ahead of the lead group. He hadn't slowed down as the ground approached, but instead allowed his feet to skim the grass and pushed off, using the hard surface to help him accelerate through the hoop and back into the air.

'Fucking hell, James,' Sirius shouted, his heart hammering in his chest at the dangerous manoeuvre.

James laughed like a madman and zoomed through the next hoop, before looping back over upside down and whizzing through the last one before the finish line.

'Keep up Sirius.'

Sirius laughed. James was having the time of his life and he couldn't stay cross when his friend's face was filled with so much joy.

Needless to say, James won the race. Sirius came third, and he was happy with that. Flying was James' thing, and he was overjoyed for him.

The rest of the competition was less thrilling, but no less fun. Agility course, speed run, or feat of daring, James won them all.

They returned to the dorm at half-past one in the morning, and Sirius fell straight to sleep for the first time since the vernal equinox. The euphoria left-over from the flying kept the nightmares of chains and phantom flames at bay until the sun reached through the curtains the next morning and woke him from the best sleep he'd had in weeks.

The days flew by with them spending every evening brewing the potion into the early hours, and they were all exhausted. So it was with a deep sense of fatigue that Sirius took his seat in Defence the next Friday. Fatigue and trepidation. Tuesday's lesson had been on the veela, and he had a feeling he knew what would be next. Glancing at Remus for the millionth time that morning, he willed him to keep it together for the lesson. He'd been looking pale and anxious since he woke up that morning, and Sirius was certain the upcoming class was the reason for it.

Professor Hawthorne entered the classroom and strolled up to the front. He assisted Emhio in climbing out of the pool, before turning to face the waiting students. 'Good morning, class. Today's lesson is an interesting topic. They're classified as both Being and Beast by the Ministry of Magic. In reality, they are neither, but are, in fact, humans suffering from a painful disease. I am, of course, talking about the werewolf.'

Whispers erupted throughout the room and Sirius looked around, trying to spot anyone being bigoted that might need a talking to later.

'As always,' Professor Hawthorne said, raising his voice slightly to be heard over the whispers, forcing everyone to quiet down, 'anyone using disrespectful language will be sent directly to Professor Dumbledore. I will not have prejudice in my classroom. Now, with that in mind, what do you know about werewolves?'

A number of hands went up and Professor Hawthorne called on a Ravenclaw called Smith.

'During the full moon they transform into wolves and are aggressive towards people, but the rest of the time they look and act like humans.'

Professor Hawthorne nodded. 'A good answer, but you need to be careful of your language. They don't look and act human the rest of the time, they are human the rest of the time. Anyone else? Yes, Mister Pettigrew?'

Sirius was surprised to see Peter volunteering in a class that wasn't Potions or Herbology, and he waited with bated breath. If Peter said something bad, it would hurt Remus deeply.

'The transformation is painful,' he said. 'And they get sick for a day or two before and after the full moon.'

'Correct. As Mister Pettigrew says, the transformation into the wolf form is incredibly painful and before and after the full moon the afflicted human will be unwell. Werewolves that lock themselves away for the duration of the change will often inflict injuries on themselves, though no one is sure why.'

James leant close to Sirius and whispered, 'They're probably lonely.'

Sirius smiled, James was so good at seeing straight to the heart of things. 'Yeah, imagine being locked up and alone every day of your life,' Sirius said.

'Emhio, if you could please transform, now.'

Emhio did so, her human form melting into a lupine one effortlessly. The wolf was light grey with whiter fur around her snout and belly. Is that what Moony looked like? Or would his fur match Remus' hair colour?

'Thank you, Emhio. As you can see, the werewolf is almost identical to a normal wolf, but they can be distinguished in four ways. Their snouts are a little shorter, their tails tufted instead of bushy, and their pupils are smaller, giving their eyes a more human-like appearance. The fourth clue is in their behaviour. While normal wolves are rarely aggressive towards humans and hunt other animals, there are no known accounts of werewolf aggression towards other animals, but they will always attack humans.'

'Why doesn't the ministry have them all put down then?' A Ravenclaw Sirius didn't know called out from the back of the class. He felt a white-hot flash of heat and whipped his head around to glare at the boy.

Professor Hawthorne responded calmly, though. 'Because they're people, Mister Robbins, and have as much right to live their lives as you or I. Please remove yourself from my classroom and report to Professor Dumbledore.'

Robbins shoved his chair out and stomped towards the door. 'I only said what everyone else was thinking.'

'Not everyone was thinking it, asshole!' James yelled after him.

Sirius' anger cooled and was replaced with a warm glow at James' unknowing support for Remus, and he gave him a high five. 'Too fucking right.'

Professor Hawthorne acted like he hadn't heard James' shout and continued his lecture as if nothing had happened.

'Werewolves tend to lead solitary lives, ostracised by society because of a mistaken belief that they are dangerous to be around, even when in their untransformed state. They have a difficult time finding employment and keeping it when they do. And I hope if any of you one day find yourselves in the position of employer you will not show such prejudice.'

Several students nodded, and Sirius took a moment to look over at Remus. He had his head bent over his parchment as if he was taking notes, but his quill was still.

Not doing well then.

'The truth is, the only way to catch lycanthropy is through being bitten by a transformed werewolf during a full moon. Werewolves are only dangerous during the hours the full moon is in the sky. That is, at most, twenty hours a month out of six hundred and ninety-six. Not very much at all.'

Sirius was still looking at Remus when Professor Hawthorne said this, and Remus slowly raised his head to look at the teacher, all the blood draining from his face and turning him white as a ghost. What had Professor Hawthorne said to cause that reaction? Werewolves are only dangerous during the full moon? Surely he already knew that, though. But it didn't seem like it.

A horrible realisation hit Sirius all at once as images flashed through his mind. Remus shying away from touch, an expression of terror in his eyes. His reaction at the quidditch match and his desperate questions, "Did you touch me? Did you touch my skin?" The way Remus had watched him so closely the day of the next full moon. Remus wasn't afraid of being touched; he was afraid of infecting someone.

Some horrible, evil, dickhead had told Remus his touch was infectious.

The rest of the lesson went by in a blur for Sirius. He was vaguely aware of his feet carrying him along with the rest of the class as they went up to examine the werewolf-kelpie at close range, but he zoned out through the rest of the lecture. Had Remus believed this lie since he was bitten? If so, he must be losing his mind right now. And if he knew Remus, he would bolt the moment the lesson was over. Sirius needed to be prepared.

He kept his eye on the time and began surreptitiously packing away his things a few minutes before the end of the lesson. When Professor Hawthorne said the words, 'And that's all for today. Have a good weekend everyone,' Sirius stood and swung his bag onto his back in one smooth motion.

'I need a piss. I'll meet you back in the dorm,' he said to James, before dashing from the room without waiting for a response. He lingered in the corridor, and as he'd expected, Remus barrelled out of the room seconds after him. He was oblivious to Sirius' presence, head down, staring blindly at the floor as he speed-walked down the corridor and around the corner. Sirius jogged after him and rounded the bend just in time to see Remus disappear into a secret passage behind a portrait.

Remus was sitting in the dim light of the secret passageway, staring at his hands with hot, burning eyes. The hands he had thought would never feel the touch of human skin again. It had been so long; he didn't even remember what it felt like to touch another's skin with his own. And none of it was true. There was no danger in his touch. No virus. No infection. His entire life was built on a lie.

Bright light suddenly filled the passage, blinding him, but as fast as it came it was gone again, plunging him into darkness. He was no longer alone, though, he could feel someone's presence.

'Who's there?' he asked, unable to see anything after the burst of light.

'It's me.' Sirius' voice floated out of the darkness and he could just make out the shape of him against the slightly lighter wall. The Sirius-shaped shadow seemed to shrink in on itself as he lowered himself to the floor opposite him.

Remus sighed. He needed to think. To piece his life together and figure out what was real and what was a lie. And he couldn't do that with Sirius watching. He would want to know what was bothering him, and he wouldn't let it go. Like a dog with a bone. Remus didn't have the spare brain capacity to make up a convincing lie. He just needed Sirius to leave.

'Please, don't take this the wrong way, Sirius, but I want to be alone right now. Can we talk later?'

Sirius shook his head. 'I don't think you want to be alone. I think you believe you have to be alone because you think there's no one you can talk too,' he said. 'But you can talk to me.'

Remus groaned and buried his head in his knees. 'I can't. Not about this,' he mumbled. 'You don't know about this, and I can't tell you.'

Sirius made a frustrated sound. 'For fuck's sake, you're never going to tell me, are you?' His tone was angry, but he was keeping his voice quiet. 'I've been so fucking patient, but no matter what I do to prove myself, you're never going to trust me enough to believe that I could possibly know you're a werewolf and still want to be your friend!'

Remus' head shot up with a start.

He knows!

His heart rate picked up and his mind went blank with terror. 'I'm not a werewolf,' he blurted. 'What are you talking about?'

Sirius scoffed. 'Really? We're going to do the denial thing? Alright then. Why don't you explain why you disappear every single full moon?'

How long had he been keeping track? Remus felt dizzy and there was a horrible ringing in his ears. He couldn't think straight.

'It's a coincidence.'

Sirius laughed. 'That,' he said, 'was pathetic. You've had eight months to make up believable stories and your excuse is, "It's a coincidence"? Merlin, you need my help if you want to keep your secret until you graduate.'

Remus' head cleared a little at Sirius' words and he bit his lip. It didn't sound like Sirius planned to betray him.

'You want to help me?'

Sirius rolled his eyes. 'Obviously. Well. I've been helping you since I figured it out, but it'd be nice if you knew that's what I was doing. Sometimes, I think you get the impression that I just really like attention.'

Remus thought back to all the times Sirius had gone out of his way to draw attention to himself, and he was right, they had all been times when Remus was moon-sick. He'd been distracting everyone. Remus' chest filled with a pleasant tingling-warmth.

'How long have you known?'

Sirius shrugged. 'Since September.'

Since September? September? What? How did he figure it out so fast? Did anyone else know? Why hadn't he said something?

Remus felt light-headed, and he put his head in his hands, digging his fingers into his hair. This was too much. There were so many questions spinning through his mind. It was a struggle to choose one.

'I don't understand,' he said at last. 'You've known for months. Why didn't you say something?'

'I'm sorry,' Sirius said with a sigh. 'I was waiting for you to trust me enough to tell me. I thought it would scare you to have someone you didn't trust knowing your secret.'

Remus nodded. It was kind of sweet, actually. Annoying—if he'd just said something, it would have saved Remus a lot of anxiety—but sweet. The next question was more important. It really should have been his first, but he couldn't change that now, and he needed to know what mistakes he'd made so he didn't repeat them.

'How did you figure it out?'

Remus' eyes had adjusted to the low light level and he could see Sirius' lips quirk up in a smirk.

'Well, I can't take all the credit,' he said. 'I found your pros and cons list. That gave me some clues to go on.'

Remus' face warmed uncomfortably hot. His cheeks were probably crimson. Gods, how embarrassing!

'I can't believe you thought we'd be a distraction from your schoolwork. Pffft.'

That was not helping. Remus drew his legs up and buried his face in his lap. 'I can't believe you saw that,' he mumbled into his knees.

'Ah, don't worry about it,' Sirius said. 'We've all done embarrassing shit. Anyway, that just told me you had a secret. It was the boggart lesson that revealed what the secret was.'

'You saw mine was the full moon?'

Sirius nodded. 'Everyone else was busy talking. Only me and Pete were watching you and he thought it was a crystal ball.'

'But you didn't?'

'No,' Sirius said. 'I knew what it was, and I knew what it meant.'

Remus thought back to the boggart lesson. It felt like a lifetime ago. So much had happened since then. 'Wait. We weren't talking then. I thought you hated me.'

Sirius looked confused. 'So?'

'So, you could have just left me alone and avoided me when you realised what I was. But you went out of your way to make up with me.'

'That's all true. Yes,' Sirius said, and Remus growled at him with frustration. Was he being purposefully stupid?

'That's pretty hot,' Sirius said, smirking at him. 'Do it again.'

Remus ignored him. 'Why would you want to be friends with a dark creature?'

Sirius rolled his eyes. 'I didn't want to be friends with a dark creature. I wanted to be friends with you. And you just happened to be a werewolf.'

'And you didn't care?' Remus whisper-shouted. 'You just what? Thought, "never mind, it's just a werewolf," I don't understand why you would go ahead and befriend me when you knew.'

Sirius sat forward. His face was angry now. 'Fine!' he snapped. 'You want to know the truth? What went through my mind in Defence that day? I thought, "he's a werewolf, fuck!" And for a moment. Not even a full second, just a moment, I was horrified. But then I looked at you, Remus. I thought about who you are, your intelligence, your kindness, your insane love of books, and I knew.'

Sirius stopped then, and Remus waited for him to continue, but he didn't. He was going to make him ask.

'Knew what?'

Sirius met his eyes and held them with his own, and Remus was caught in the silver-grey stare, unable to look away.

'I knew that everything I'd been taught about werewolves was bullshit. They're not monsters; they're just people. You are just a person. A person with a horrific and painful disease. And you deserve the same love and care as everyone else.'

Sirius didn't break eye contact during his speech, and his sincerity burned in his eyes. His words went against everything Remus believed about himself, but coming from Sirius, he found them harder than usual to deny. Harder, but not impossible.

Remus broke free of Sirius' mesmerising gaze and looked away. 'You're wrong. You don't know the beast I turn into. You'd change your mind if you saw it.'

Sirius sat up straighter. 'Hey! Don't talk about Moony like that!'

'What?' Remus' head whipped back around to stare at Sirius. 'Who the fuck is Moony?'

'Er... That's what I named the wolf,' Sirius said, fidgeting with the end of his sleeve and shrugging. 'He likes it, I think.'

Named the wolf? Likes it? It almost sounded like Sirius had… But no… That was impossible… He wouldn't take such a stupid risk. But this was Sirius they were talking about. If anyone was reckless enough to attempt to befriend a werewolf, it was him.

Remus hauled himself to his feet and stared down at Sirius, who had suddenly lost all of his confidence and was refusing to meet his eyes.

Remus spoke in a low hiss. 'Don't tell me you followed me, Sirius? Please, don't tell me you were foolish enough to follow me on the full moon?'

'I probably shouldn't say anything at all then,' Sirius said. 'Because I'm not going to lie to you.'

Remus snorted. 'Oh, how very noble of you,' he said, the words dripping with sarcasm. 'You'll follow me without my knowledge or consent. Spy on me when I'm at my most vulnerable. Put your life, and mine, in danger. But you won't lie to me.'

Sirius stood up then, but continued to look at his feet. 'I'm sorry. You're right. It was wrong to spy on you.' He looked up. 'But I think Moony likes me being there.'

'What do you mean? There?' Remus asked through gritted teeth. 'Where? Not in the house?'

'Gods, no. I'm not an idiot. I stay in the tunnel. But he knows I'm there. I don't know how, but he knows.' Sirius said. 'He lies down as close as he can get, directly above me no matter where I position myself. And he listens to my voice. Sometimes he barks or howls at me.'

'And you... What?' Remus asked, running a hand through his hair. 'Just stay there all night, talking? Don't you get bored? Tired?'

'Well, yeah,' Sirius said, shrugging. 'Of course. But it keeps him from hurting you, Remus. I'd do anything to keep you from being hurt.'

Remus went quiet. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Sirius was spending the full moons in the cold, damp tunnel, talking to a monster through a trapdoor, just so Remus wouldn't get hurt. And Remus hadn't been hurt, not since…

'So, that time I nearly died?' Remus said. 'At the end of January...'

'We were collecting the leaping toadstools for the potion, and I couldn't get there until hours after moonrise. New year was the first time I followed you. I guess Moony didn't think I was coming back, and he was sad?'

The idea of the wolf feeling any emotion but anger wasn't something he'd ever really considered. 'You think it's lonely?'

'Wouldn't you be?' Sirius said. 'He's spent his whole life alone in a cage.'

Remus' throat tightened as he imagined it. Gods, how awful that must be. To be always and forever alone. Because there was no way he could ever let the wolf have company. Ever. It would be a death sentence for anyone who entered the wolf's territory.

'I couldn't make it at all during the holidays, Peter was up with the potion until two, and then James took over. I was so worried. Were you badly hurt?'

Remus shook his head, remembering the unfathomable sadness he'd woken up with after the last full moon, and swallowed down the lump in his throat.

'Not at all. The wolf must have waited all night for you.'

'Good,' Sirius said, sounding relieved. 'I'm not going to stop coming, you know? Even if you forbid it.'

Remus stared at him, and Sirius met his eyes with a look of defiance. His back was ramrod straight, his chin up and his nose in the air. Every inch the arrogant pure-blood who always got his way.

As if Remus would refuse the only thing keeping him from being ripped apart every month, he wasn't a masochist. And anyway, he was feeling a newfound empathy for the wolf; taking away his only source of companionship would be cruel.

'You can drop the act. I'm not going to tell you not to come.'

Sirius' posture slouched back into his normal, careless stance. 'Thank Merlin, I didn't want to fall out with you over it, but I would have.'

Remus shook his head at his friend—he was such an idiot at times—and sat back down on the floor. This conversation had been illuminating, but none of it had helped with the problem that had driven him to seek solitude. The tension he'd been feeling before returned as he remembered why he was there, and he stiffened before looking down at his hands.

Either Sirius noticed or he could read minds because he sat down opposite him and said, 'So. Now that's all out of the way, do you want to tell me who told you your touch would infect people?'

Remus' head jerked up in shock for what must have been the fiftieth time in ten short minutes. 'You knew it wouldn't?'

Sirius nodded. 'After I figured it out, I read some books—'

Remus snorted. 'You? Did research?'

Sirius sniffed and stuck his nose in the air. 'It's been known to happen on occasion. I reserve it for very important things. Like helping best friends,' he said pointedly.

'Alright, I'm sorry,' Remus waved his hand. 'Please continue.'

'They said the same as Professor Hawthorne did today. Werewolves can only turn people on the full moon. I just figured your phobia was unrelated, though. But then I saw your face in class just now and I realised…'

Remus shook his head. 'So much wasted time.'

'Who was it that told you?'

Remus shrugged. 'I don't remember, it was so long ago.'

'Just before your fifth birthday? The car crash?' Sirius asked.

'You knew that was a cover?' Remus asked, feeling even worse than he had before. Lying was bad enough, but to have lied to someone who knew it was a lie? Sirius must think him a complete asshole. 'I hated lying to you all. But I didn't think I had a choice.'

'It's okay. I get why you had to,' Sirius said. 'You were so young when it happened, though, and no one even gave you a hug?'

Remus ignored him. He didn't want pity. Especially right now. 'It can't have been the hospital staff. They wouldn't lie to a patient.'

Thankfully, Sirius took the hint. 'I agree. Who does that leave?'

'Just my parents,' Remus said in a quiet voice, tensing up again. His body reacting to his thoughts faster than he could voice them. 'But my mum's a muggle…'

'So she wouldn't know anything,' Sirius said, finishing his thought for him.

'Which leaves…' Only one person who could have told the lie that ruined what was left of his already shattered life. '… my dad.'

'Your dad,' Sirius repeated in confirmation. 'The question is, did he know he was lying?'

'He worked for the DRCMC. He must have known,' Remus said, feeling his heart begin to pound in his chest.

'Damn,' Sirius said. 'What do you want to do about that?'

Remus covered his face with his hands and growled, trying to suppress the familiar heat welling up inside.

'I don't know!' The words burst from him and he jumped to his feet, pacing back and forth down the length of the passageway. Six steps one way, six steps back again, his rage seething in his belly. 'He lied, on purpose, to take away the only thing I had left. The wolf took my innocence, my happiness, my freedom. All I had left was the comfort my mum could give me, and my own father stole it from me. I think…' He stopped in front of Sirius and spat the words out, 'I hate him.'

Sirius met his gaze without flinching. 'And you have every right to hate him. What about your mum?'

'What about her?'

'Are you going to tell her?'

The question stopped Remus cold, dousing the heat of his anger and turning his insides to ice. What would his mum think about this? She'd be elated. Want to hug him straight away. Wrap him in her arms and never let him go. His heart raced at the thought and his breathing turned rough and haggard.

'Remus? You okay?' Sirius asked, frowning. Remus shook his head, unable to speak, and Sirius' frown deepened. 'Hey, come on, sit down a minute.'

Remus lowered himself to the ground, still trying to catch his breath, and Sirius took a seat opposite him, leaning back against the wall and murmuring reassurances to calm him down. After a minute, he was able to articulate his thoughts.

'I'm scared. She's going to want to hug me and I don't know if I can…'

Sirius nodded. 'It's been a long time.'

'I don't even remember what it feels like.'

Sirius sat forward. 'What if I help you?'

'Help me how?' Remus asked, raising his eyebrows.

'We've got, what?' Sirius counted on his fingers. 'Seven weeks until the end of term? Plenty of time. We can start small, like you touch my hand with your finger, and work up to the point where I can give you a hug.'

That didn't sound like a bad idea, actually. It should be easier if he was in control of the contact. And he trusted Sirius. Completely.

'Once you're used to me, we can ask James and Peter to help too.'

'You can't tell them!' Remus said, his heart rate picking back up at the possibility.

Sirius shook his head. 'Not about the lycanthropy, no. That's up to you, but for the record, I honestly think they'll be fine with it. You heard them in class today. But for now, we can just tell them you want to get over your phobia. They'll want to help.'

'Okay, yeah. That's a good idea.' Remus chose to ignore the part about telling James and Peter about his vile disease. Sirius was different, most people didn't react that well.

'So you want to try?' Sirius asked, holding out his hand with the palm facing up.

'Now?' Remus asked, his breathing speeding back up.

Sirius shrugged. 'Might as well get started.'

Remus stared at Sirius' outstretched hand and swallowed. 'I'm scared. What if Professor Hawthorne's wrong? I don't want to infect you.'

Sirius lowered his hand. 'He's not wrong. I…' Sirius paused, and took a deep breath, before speaking in a rush. 'I lied to you once. You remember the Quidditch match? I lied. I touched your hand, but you were so scared, I was worried it would make it worse if I told you the truth. Please don't hate me.'

Remus stared at him for a moment, stunned. That had been months ago. And Sirius was fine. It was the proof he needed, and he let out a shaky laugh. 'I don't hate you.'

'Gods, if only I'd told you the truth back then. A few weeks later and you'd have known you weren't infectious.'

'It's probably best you didn't. I'm not sure what I would have done. Run away probably, thinking I was going to be executed.'

'Executed?' Sirius said with a yelp.

'That's what happens to a werewolf that infects someone else. If they're caught.'

'Fuck! Thank Merlin I lied.'

'Especially since I doubt I'd be able to secure myself on the run, and then someone would have really been hurt.'

'And it would have been entirely your dad's fault,' Sirius said, before holding his hand out again and grinning. 'So are we going to do this? You want to be able to throw it in his face when you get home, right?'

Remus grinned back. His stomach fluttered when he pictured his dad's expression when he showed him that he knew the truth. Making him afraid, like Remus had been afraid for so long.

'Yes. I want that very much.'

Sirius' grin grew impossibly wider. 'For revenge.'

'For justice,' Remus corrected, moving closer and reaching out with his hand. He balled his hand into a fist, leaving his index finger extended, and moved it towards Sirius' outstretched palm.

'I won't move,' Sirius promised.

Remus nodded and inched closer still. The tip of his finger was millimetres from Sirius' palm and he could feel the body heat radiating from him. His heart was pounding out of his chest as he closed the distance and made contact.

A/N: I'm so nervous about this chapter. After building up the tension for this moment for 200,000 words, I really don't want to disappoint you all. I hope this was everything you wanted it to be, and I'd love to hear from you :) Thanks for reading.