James! Sirius!" Mrs Potter greeted them warmly with a hug each. Mr Potter, the spitting image of James, patted them both affectionately on the back and helped them with their luggage. After a brief chat with Peter's parents on the platform, the four of them were driving in James' Dad's company car towards their home. The journey only took an hour and soon they were rolling into the drive of the large, red bricked house in the small wizarding village of Sageham. Sirius loved this place. The house looked like a doll's house, Sirius thought, not a child's doll's house, but one of those really classic Georgian style ones with huge white windows and a pillar-box red front door with a brass knocker. As they stepped through the porch into the hall, they were greeted by Albert, James' huge dog who looked terrifying but really wouldn't hurt a fly. Recognising Sirius, he jumped up and licked him straight away. Sirius laughed and followed James into the lounge which was now home to a new sofa, but the rest was the same as his last visit, exactly a year ago. One of the windows let barely any light in due to the smothering of honeysuckle which covered it and made the room smell heavenly. Pictures hung above the fireplace: one of James and his parents, one of Hogwarts and one of James, Sirius and Remus, taken last summer underneath the willow tree in one of the fields leading on from the long, flowery garden. Sirius grinned; it was good to be back.

That evening, Sirius and James were sitting in James' room chatting about Quidditch and which team would win the league that year when an owl tapped lightly at the window. Sirius stood up quickly and let the small, sandy bird in curiously. He untied the piece of parchment attached to the owl's leg, unfurled it and read aloud:

Dear James and Sirius,

Just a quick note to say that I'm really sorry for abandoning you on the train earlier; Harriet and I just needed to sort some stuff out between us. I really wish I could have said goodbye. Also, I was wondering whether it would be okay with James' folks if I could come on Monday not Wednesday because my Mum and Dad want to stop off in Diagon Alley for a couple of nights before they leave for Romania (don't ask why!) So if that's fine with James, I should be arriving into the station around lunch time the day after tomorrow. Please let me know, and sorry again,

Love Remus x

Sirius cursed the ambiguity of the letter but was cheered by the prospect of Remus' early arrival. James found a bit of parchment and scribbled:

Dear Moony,

Don't be stupid, of course it's okay for you to come early, you're always welcome here. Don't worry about sodding off earlier – it's Harriet Baker, nobody can blame you. Hope you had fun and we'll come to the station to meet you on Monday at around one.

See you then!

Padfoot and Prongs x

"I thought you said he wouldn't go for Harriet!" Sirius exclaimed as he scanned through the note which he then tied carefully onto the bird's outstretched leg.

"He won't! I was just winding him up, you know how he loves it" James smirked. Sirius rolled his eyes and opened the window.

"Take this to Remus" he told the bird, gave it a digestive biscuit and sent it on its way. "Right I'm going to bed" he sighed and walked down the landing into the room which he and Remus always stayed in when they slept here. He opened the door into the familiar room and crossed the wooden floor to open the window due to the humidity of the night. He sighed as he glanced at the waxing moon, suspended in the sky as if it were on strings. This moon cast a shadow over Remus's life and caused him so much pain, yet at this moment, it looked so beautiful in the cloudless sky. Sirius wondered how many people in the world were looking at the same moon. He wondered whether Remus was one of them.

The next morning, Sirius was woken by the sound of rain pattering on the window pane. He loved rainy days. They always reminded him of his first ever quidditch match when they had beaten Slytherin 210-60 in the middle of a thunder storm. This incidentally was also the day when he first got incredibly drunk, and the day when he lost his virginity. It was a day for lots of firsts.

James walked into Sirius's room and told him that breakfast was ready. It smelled delicious, Mrs Potter was the best cook Sirius had ever met, and James was lucky enough to have her as a mother. He wondered what his own family was doing. He knew that the atmosphere would be nowhere near as warm as at the Potters'. He knew deep down that none of them could possibly be happy living that sort of life. He had found happiness. Happiness was not the dark side. Happiness was Hogwarts, friendship, and most of all, Remus.

James followed Sirius down the spiralling staircase and they walked into the kitchen where bacon, sausages, eggs and tomatoes lay tantalisingly on the large oak table. Mr and Mrs Potter were already sat; Mr potter reading the paper and his wife pouring herself a glass of pumpkin juice from a jug. They greeted the boys amicably and everybody started helping themselves to the delightful breakfast.

"Well boys, I was going to suggest that we went out for the day, but the weather's so awful, I think you'd better occupy yourselves round the house for the day, if that's okay?" Mrs Potter said from her seat at the head of the table. She was an attractive mid-forties brunette with bright blue eyes. She had her hair tied back with a red ribbon and wore barely any makeup. Mr Potter suited her perfectly. He was tall, slightly portly and smoked cigars. Though very similar in appearance to James, his mannerisms and presentation were much more gentlemanly and his hair was a couple of shades lighter. They were the perfect couple.

"Yeah that's fine, we'll find something to do" James smiled as he shovelled bacon into his mouth.

"So do you think they're together, like officially now?" Sirius tried to act casual as they played wizards' chess in the lounge that morning but James was not fooled.

"They might be" James shrugged "She is really hot!"

"What about all that crap you were spouting about substance and depth and all that?" Sirius's eyes pleaded for a glimmer of hope.

"Well you never know do you? I still don't think he's totally straight, I swear I saw him check out your arse the other day, but it could have been more envious. Hard to tell"

"James, why must you say anything if everything that comes out of your mouth is just bollocks?" Sirius grinned as his Queen put James' King in a tricky situation.

"I still can't believe you like Remus, I mean surely if you had to like a guy it would be me, wouldn't it?" James' eyes twinkled mischievously.

"Haha sorry Prongs you're not my type!" Sirius grinned.

"So you'd rather go for the skinny, brainy type than Prince Charming? You're mad!" James looked genuinely perplexed "at least Lily's attractive."

"Remus is amazing!" Sirius started "He has really nice sandy hair and those really cute eyes and his mouth..."

"Woah, this is my friend you're talking about" James joked.

"Sorry" Sirius smiled "So how's it going with you and Lily?"

"Pretty well actually, I'm kind of leaving the ball in her court but she kissed me goodbye when we left yesterday and she asked me to keep in touch, so I think it's looking promising" James couldn't help but smile, and Sirius knew that he was genuinely happy.

"Sounds awesome" Sirius sighed. James decided to drop the subject and distract Sirius by winning the game of chess and suggesting that they find something for lunch. Eventually, the boys decided on soup because there was some already made and both of them knew how to use the stove.

"So, what shall we do next?" Sirius asked when they had finished.

"Erm, is it still raining?"

"Yup. We could... err..."

"Umm yeah, err... erm."

"Have you noticed that when Moony's not around, it doesn't really work?" Sirius smiled.

"Yeah, I know, he'd think of something in no time. This is pathetic, it's been a day!" James exclaimed.

"I know! I bet he's fine without us..."

Remus was not fine. He was incredibly bored and slightly lonely. It had been fine at first. He and his parents had exchanged pleasantries over a roast dinner. They had spoken in depth about Hogwarts: about the lessons he was taking, about his teachers and about his friends. He had managed to speak for a long time about his friends, especially Sirius of whom he had spoken freely for by far the longest before he had stopped himself (although he had by no means finished). He told himself that it meant nothing and that it was merely because he was closest to Sirius but it was becoming harder to convince himself of this.

After the meal at the Lupins', they had more or less run out of conversation. Though Remus loved his parents deeply, he found it hard to simply pick up where they left off. They would not see each other for months on end; it was hardly surprising to find that they now had barely anything in common. So Remus was in his room. Alone. Willing the next day to arrive so he could see his friends. As he reached over to his clock to check the time, he was delighted to spot James' large tawny owl, Patrick flying towards his window at full speed. He crossed the room quickly to open the window and the bird swooped in elegantly and sat on Remus's bed. He was carrying a roll of parchment which he held out to Remus expectantly. It said:

Dear Remus,

We know it's pathetic, but we're really bored! There's nothing to do around here and we thought you might have an idea. Sorry to bother you when you're with your parents, you're probably having a whale of a time without us. We can't wait to see you tomorrow!

Love Sirius and James x

Remus smiled sheepishly. They were missing him. He had secretly wanted them not to get along too well without him. This time tomorrow, he would be with them again, with him. He mentally kicked himself for that thought. For God's sake, he could last for a couple of days without him. He was a friend. He was just a friend. A kind, lovely friend. A kind, lovely friend with amazing hair and a really good body. Remus sighed. He was falling for his best friend and he feared that things were going to change between them. Their friendship was often the one reason for him to keep going. He wouldn't, couldn't let it change. He would just have to carry on pretending everything was fine. Everything had to be fine. He sighed and scrawled his reply:

Dear James and Sirius,

I'm really bored too! My parents have been lovely, but we kind of ran out of things to talk about around an hour ago and now I'm just sitting in my room thinking about... stuff. I'm getting in around twelve tomorrow so I'll get to James's at around one, you really don't have to come to the station, I'll be fine. As for the boredom, I'm making the most of a free Saturday by lounging around and doing absolutely nothing, I suggest you do the same.

See you tomorrow!

Love Remus x

He rolled the parchment up and tied it with a red ribbon to James's owl's grey leg, opened the window and sent the owl on its way. He watched it fly further and further towards the horizon, further and further towards Sirius and felt his insides well with anticipation, with longing. He sighed and lay on his bed, opened up his book and curled up, resting his head on his pillow. He tried to read, but his eyes kept glazing over the same line again and again. He placed the book down and drifted off into a restless, agitated sleep.