Disclaimer: I own no part of the Potterverse. Not even Sirius. sob If I owned him I'd be spending my time in more productive ways then typing fanfic.

Dedicated to my good friend Minu, who's going through a bit of a rough patch right now. I hope you feel better now, Minu - Malayalee punk rockers should be a bit more cheerful than that! ((sorry guys, private joke))

Friendship.

Friendship. How do you define friendship? How do you define something with so many myriad and wonderful meanings?

Ask any witch or wizard who was at Hogwarts at any point between 1971 and 1977 to give you a prime example of friendship, and they'll tell you, "James Potter and Sirius Black,". On the train to Hogwarts for the first time, they met and formed a bond so strong and deep not even death could rend it.

Although they were joined later by Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew, it was clear to everyone that James and Sirius had something special. Remus had seen James gesticulate wordlessly and Sirius quietly hand him whatever he'd been looking for. Peter would watch enviously as James came back with a set, stony face after yet another fruitless attempt to ask Lily out, and Sirius wordlessly Summoned their brooms before dragging his brother in all but blood to the Quidditch pitch. And even Lily Evans was forced to concede that there was something admirable in James' fierce loyalty to and protectiveness of his friends; she could see it from his reactions when someone brought up Remus' illnesses, Peter's nervousness or Sirius' family. Especially Sirius' family.

When Sirius finally ran away from Grimmauld Place, he Disapparated with no clear idea of his destination, saying later that he "just wanted to go somewhere safe. Away from them." He reappeared in the Potters' home, and thus found a real family.

In sixth year, the two of them had a fight, and Gryffindor Tower reverberated with their yells. For two weeks after that, they stormed around the halls of Hogwarts avoiding each other pointedly, looking like the angry walking dead. Students and teachers alike would scramble to get out of their way. When Sirius finally overcame the famous Black pride to apologise, Hogwarts sighed in relief.

When they became Aurors, naturally they were partners, fighting back to back, laughing as they took down Death Eaters. When told that Voldemort was hunting him and his family down, James instinctively turned to Sirius. In the netherworldly gloom of Azkaban, it was the knowledge that he was innocent, that he hadn't caused James' death, that kept Sirius sane. It was the desire to hunt Wormtail down, to avenge James' death and keep James' son safe, that motivated Sirius to escape from Azkaban. And when Sirius finally fell through the veil, James was waiting for him on the other side.

So? Review please! Concrit is welcome!