Serendipity (S. Black)

TWENTY-TWO

"what are friends for?"

*

A faint flowery aroma reached Sirius' nose as he woke, something soft and comforting. It immediately put him at ease, at least until he recognized the scent. He opened his eyes in confusion and almost fell off the couch in surprise when he realized Eva's head lay on his lap.

"Hey, Pads!" James whispered, walking quietly into the room drinking a cup of coffee.

Sirius pointed to the blonde girl, his storm-gray eyes wide. "Why is she sleeping on me?"

"Because she was tired?" He quirked an eyebrow up with sarcasm. "Hey, you two look cozy."

Sirius shot a glare at James. "I mean, what is she doing here?"

"Paying a friendly visit," Remus said, walking in behind James. On his scarred face he wore a tired smile, and he held two cups of coffee himself. Handing one to Sirius, he grinned and said, "Didn't think you'd celebrate the holidays without your family, did you?"

Sirius was at a loss for words. "I- I-"

"Yeah, good to see you, too." The boys sat down on different armchairs. "We got here a few hours ago. Around five in the morning. How're you feeling?"

"Better," Sirius said, shrugging. Truth be told, his body still ached from the Cruciatus curse, but he'd never admit that, not with them all worried enough. He did feel better, though, especially because the people he cared about most surrounded him.

"You look better. Gave us quite a scare last night, mate," said James. His smile wavered as he recalled the panic of the night before. "I'd keep it down if I were you, you don't want Mum smothering you just yet."

"Moony, you're awfully quiet," Sirius commented. "Reasons?"

Remus kept his eyes on his mug, suddenly nervous. "I'm going to tell her. About... what I am."

The atmosphere in the room changed completely. James sat straighter, pushing his glasses further up his nose, and Sirius' mouth dropped open.

"Are you- are you really?" James asked in a hushed voice. He glanced at Eva, still propped up against the couch in sleep.

Remus nodded, trying to ignore the sick feeling in his stomach. "We were talking at the table last night, and I just got tired of keeping it from her. She's one of our best friends. I trust her with my life. She's one of the best people I know. She deserves the truth."

"Good for you," Sirius said. Secretly, he was wondering why Remus couldn't have fessed up before he blew his shot with Eva, but he knew that was a selfish thought and these people were too good to him to dwell on it. "Don't worry about how she'll react, either. You know she'll be perfectly fine with it. Blondie's loyal to a fault, it might get her into trouble someday."

James and Remus began to talk about school and Quidditch, carefully avoiding the real situation until Sirius was ready to bring it up himself, and he was immensely grateful for it. He tuned out the conversation and began to play with Eva's messy curls, stroking them gently. It had a calming effect on him.

After a few minutes, she shifted and her eyes opened, scanning the living room with confusion as she tried to remember what she was doing in the Potter living room, but once she did, she immediately looked up at Sirius with concern, not even embarrassed for having fallen asleep in his lap.

"Are you okay? What happened?" The words tumbled from her lips before she thought at all, and she internally cursed at herself for being so tactless. "Sorry."