Some Day | Wolfstar

Eighty-four

(This chapter is dedicated to KissMyMoonyy (again)- cause you're special, baby)

Sirius excused himself and left for their dorm room. Remus watched him, worried. "I'll go talk to him," James told him. "I'll be right with you, babe," he kissed Lily. "Take your time, Potter," she smiled at him, her eyes following his figure as he flew up the stairs. She wanted nothing more than to curl up in front of the fire with him, but at the moment, Sirius probably needed him a lot more than she did.

"Will you give us a minute?" She whispered to Remus, who nodded at her. "I'll go to the library real quick. Just to borrow a book... I won't take long," he replied. "Bye, Severus," he added, and quickly made himself scarce. "Uhm, bye..." Severus pressed on the tip of his wand with his index finger as he watched Remus exit the Tower.

"Are you just going to keep not looking at me?" Lily asked. Severus cleared his throat, "No..."

Lily took his hand and tugged him on to a couch by the fire. She stretched her feet towards the flames, sighing as their delightful warmth tingled her toes. Severus shifted a little, pressing his hand to his side. Lily frowned. "Are you hurt, Sev?"

He shook his head.

"You know you can't lie to me..." Lily sighed and moved a little closer. "It's okay to admit you're hurt, you know."

Severus nodded.

Lily rested her chin on her hand, watching him. He was pale, there were small scrapes on his cheek and hands, and the ever-present circles under his eyes had deepened into a light violet. "I'm sorry," he said softly, not looking up.

"I know you are," Lily said just as quietly, "I forgive you."

Severus nodded his head again, making Lily laugh. "Hey," she nudged him. He turned to her. "Sad and brooding really isn't a good look for you."

"Looking good is the least of my intentions, Lily."

"You could use it," Lily giggled, nudging him again. "Thank you," Severus scoffed, but there was a small smile on his lips. "There's that smile," Lily grinned. They fell into a short silence, which lasted until Remus walked in empty-handed. Lily called him to sit with them.

"No book?" She asked. Remus shook his head. "Can't borrow since we're only here for today." He sat down next to Lily.

"How's Sirius holding up?" She asked. "Barely," Remus replied. "He loved Regulus more than anyone else in the world, Lily."

Lily had never got the chance to talk to Regulus. She had seen him around, but had never had the opportunity or the need to talk to him.

"And you?" She asked, scanning Remus' tired face. "Me?" He raised his eyebrows. "Yes, you. I know you're worried about Sirius, but you're not looking very great either. All of you look awful."

"Wow, Lily, thanks," Remus let out a small laugh. "I'm okay. Just... I don't know. I'm worried for Sirius, that's all."

"Is he blaming himself?" It was Severus who spoke up this time. Lily looked at him, then back at Remus. "He's not talking to me, but I'm quite sure that he does," Remus sighed. "Not talking to you?" Severus frowned. Remus sighed again. "He wouldn't even let me go near him at first-"

They all looked up when the sound of footsteps reached the common room from the staircase. "He wants to be alone, apparently," James sighed. Remus looked alarmed. "I locked the windows, don't worry. You still have his wand, yeah?" Remus nodded, still unsure.

They were dealing with Sirius Black after all.

Severus not-very-discreetly moved to a chair. Remus moved to the floor. As much as he loved them, he didn't feel like sharing a couch with James and Lily at the moment.

"Will you guys ever tell me what happened?" Lily asked, snuggling into James' side. Severus started playing with his wand again. James and Remus looked at each other. They'd been doing that a lot. Remus gave him a small nod. Lily had been dragged into the whole mess already.

They took turns telling the story, Severus adding his side occasionally. They were in the middle of telling Lily how they had found Sirius and Severus at Grimmauld Place when Sirius appeared on the stairs.

Seeing him from a distance somehow made him appear a lot worse than Remus had figured him to be. He threw himself on to the floor beside Remus and laid his head on Remus' shoulder. "I hate being alone," he murmured sleepily. Remus wrapped an arm around him, leaning back against a chair to support their combined weight. "I wanna go home."

But where was home?

Sirius' hand slipped into Remus' pocket, where he found his wand. "I hate not having it with me," he closed his eyes and pressed closer. "Carry on with your conversation, please."

James started telling Lily all that had happened, carefully avoiding mentioning Regulus. Sirius had fallen asleep by the time he finished. "Poor Sirius," Lily bit her lip. "Is he going to stay with his uncle, then?"

"Or me," James shrugged. "Unless Walburga's acquitted."

"Do you think she'll be?" Remus asked softly. James' forehead creased as he thought about the possible outcome of Walburga's trial. "Not sure. The Ministry's known to favour powerful wizards, isn't it?"

"But her Fiendfyre killed a lot of people. Too many to ignore. Besides, the Malfoys won't stand by and watch her get away with it." Severus shook his head. Remus sighed and looked at Sirius. His breath hit Remus' neck as he slept. Remus moved his hair back, wondering if they'd be called for providing evidence. He wouldn't mind, but he wasn't sure if Sirius was ready to talk about everything that had happened once more.

Sometimes, it just seemed like their troubles would simply never end.