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The king had had enough. In his hand was the sixth betrothal rejection letter his heir had written that year alone, and Orion’s wafer-thin patience snapped. With one look, he sent a servant scurrying for his useless son.
~
Sirius straightened his collar and wiped his hands nervously on his trousers. The last time he’d been summoned to his father’s office, it was to begin the ceremony that bridged Sirius into manhood. He had a growing feeling this time would not be so honorable. A servant ushered him in.
“Sirius, this is entirely unacceptable. You have rejected spouses from nearly a dozen well-respected families! The Malfoys, the Rosiers, the Yaxleys-”
Sirius wrinkled his nose. “I’ve had more interesting conversations with the wallpaper than I had with Lysandra Yaxley.”
Orion slammed his fist on his desk, causing the whisky in the decanter on the corner to slosh up the sides. The side door swung silently open and Sirius’ mother glided in. Her long fingers curled around the neck of the decanter and she deftly poured several fingers of whisky and pressed the glass in Orion’s hand.
“It’s a pity that birth order was so important to your ancestors, Orion,” Walburga’s tone was light, but the words pierced Sirius like needles. “Regulus is so much more decisive.”
Orion tapped the rim of the now-empty whisky glass against his bottom lip. “The council would never vote unanimously to change that. They haven’t voted unanimously in a dozen years.”
Sirius bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from speaking. He knew by now that saying anything would get him in just as much trouble as leaving would. Instead, he pressed his feet down in his shoes and shifted, attempting to line the soles exactly with the pattern on the floor. His feet were slightly too big now, but it was a game that had served him well growing up.
“ Sirius !” His mother’s voice hit him like a whip. “Have you been listening?”
“What?” Sirius looked up and his stomach rolled over. Walburga was smiling.
“I said -” her voice dripped with poisoned honey- “If we marry you off to an heir, then your rights to the throne here are forfeit and Regulus inherits instead. That works out for everyone.”
“I-”
Orion clapped his hands. “Wonderful! I’m so glad you agree, Sirius. Your mother and I will ruminate on which suitor will be best.”
Sirius opened his mouth, closed it, and slunk out of his father’s office. As he trudged back to his room, a motion caught his eye out the window. It was the blacksmith’s son, Remus, delivering a package. It felt weird, calling Remus ‘the blacksmith’s son’ in his head. But Sirius supposed that’s all Remus was now, despite the flood of childhood memories that flashed behind Sirius’ eyes. Walburga had intervened the moment she realized that Sirius wasn’t going to grow out of playing with Remus.
“He’s common, Sirius. You can’t be associating with people like that.”
Sirius turned away from his memories and back to the window, watching the sun glisten on Remus’ biceps and the way he readjusted his jerkin after handing over the box. Suddenly, his own shirt was far too restrictive, and Sirius wondered what it would be like to wear a jerkin with nothing underneath. Even from two stories up, the leather looked extraordinarily soft, and when Remus disappeared beyond the courtyard gate, Sirius locked himself in his room and stripped to his waist.
Cautiously, as though he might be interrupted, Sirius pulled his softest leather jerkin on over his bare chest. It didn’t accentuate his arms the way it did the blacksmith’s, but then, the other man was much more... sculpted that Sirius. Orion had never allowed Sirius to do anything close to the physical labor required of the working class. Still, he imagined that it was much more comfortable when working in a forge than the layers of cloth Sirius was forced to wear.
A patterned series of knocks indicated that Regulus was at the side door. Sirius quickly discarded the jerkin, hoping that his younger brother would simply assume he was changing clothes and not question it.
“Why are you half nude?” Regulus demanded the moment he shut the door.
Sirius made a show of opening his armoire. “I’m changing for dinner.” The silence that followed told Sirius that his brother didn’t believe him, but for once, Sirius held his tongue.
“I heard about Mother’s plan.”
Sirius took the opportunity to fuss with his shirt buttons and didn’t respond.
“Do you think they’ll send you far?”
“The closest kingdom without a married heir is Godria- a three day’s hard ride.” Sirius stepped back to examine his outfit in the mirror. He smoothed down his expertly fitted shirt and slid on a dark green jerkin, heavily embroidered with silver thread.
Regulus snorted. “They would never send you there. Godria’s family is too... common .”
It was Sirius’ turn to snort-Regulus had an amazing ability to expertly imitate their mother’s condescending tones.
“Are you well enough together now? I told Kreacher I was fetching you for dinner.”
With one last glance in the mirror, Sirius turned to the door. “Probably saved the old man a year of his life, not having to climb up here.”
~
Sirius stared incredulously at the parchment a servant had slid on top of his empty place setting. Walburga’s crisp handwriting laid out a proposal of marriage between Sirius and Prince James, heir apparent of… “ Godria?!? But you always said-”
Walburga set her goblet down so deliberately that Sirius felt as though he’d been slapped. “Your insolence over betrothals has caused more damage to our country’s reputation than the Abbot betrayal. You have left us no choice except to marry you off somewhere so...backward that you cannot ruin it further.”
The rest of the evening was a blur to Sirius, as were the following few days. Only the familiar pattern of Reg’s knocks seemed to penetrate the haze around him.
“Our messenger has returned,” Regulus said one annoyingly foggy day. He was sitting at Sirius’ desk, and even though Sirius was viciously staring out the window, he could feel his brother watching him.
“So soon?” Sirius said dismissively, still trying to make out human shapes in the fog.
“It’s been over a week.”
That pulled Sirius from his task. He turned, eyeing the red-ribboned scroll on his desk suspiciously. Even the golden edging stood out against the muted greens and silvers of his own kingdom. Reg, the useless twat, sat patiently still. With a huff, Sirius grabbed the scroll.
Prince James, heir to the throne of Godria, humbly accepts the courtship of Prince Sirius of Slytherin, and will set out for acquaintances and courtship trials on the 13th of April. If all parties are in agreement to proceed, Prince James will escort Prince Sirius to Godria on the 18th of May to begin the formal betrothal period.
King Fleamont & Queen Euphemia
“Well, he’s not leaving until the thirteenth, so-”
“It’s the fifteenth, Sirius.”
Sirius’ gaze snapped up to his brother. “ What?”
Regulus breathed heavily out of his nose, then stood up. “Your betrothed will be here tomorrow. I suggest you bathe.” Then he strode out of the room.
“He’s not my betrothed,” Sirius said to his empty room.
~
Sure enough, the next day was a flurry of servants fixing last minute problems and whispering about the arrival of Prince James. Sirius paced his room, torn between watching the gate and fearing the wrath of his parents if he did not accept this betrothal.
When Prince James’ caravan finally arrived, Sirius was struck by how bizarrely normal the ceremony was; it was nearly identical to every other foreign dignitary visit. Lots of bowing, lots of gift exchanges, lots of listening to Walburga drone on about something or other. In fact, it wasn’t until Sirius found himself alone in the family’s private parlor with Prince James that the enormity of what was happening finally sank in.
“So,” James said, the moment the door closed. “Is your mom really a vampire?”
Sirius gaped at him. “ What? ”
James snorted into his teacup, causing brown liquid to spray across the table and all over his face. He mopped it up with a napkin, still chuckling. “I’m just playing with you, Sirius. You look as though you’ve seen a ghost.”
“I...guess I’m just not ready to leave, yet.” Images of Remus flashed in his mind, and he shook them out.
James placed a hand on Sirius’. “I’m not taking you away from your family, Sirius. They can come visit any time.”
“No-I…” Sirius swallowed. “Never mind. We aren’t leaving now, anyway.”
“No, thankfully! I’ve only just arrived.” James grinned at him, then yawned. “Speaking of, I’m exhausted. Travel is hard work!” He squeezed Sirius’ hand before withdrawing his own. “Give me a tour?”
“Of course. Tomorrow.” Sirius caught himself staring at the tea stains on the table linen and quickly lifted his gaze. This caused him to look straight into James’ eyes, sparkling with life.
“May I have a guide to my room tonight? Or am I being invited to yours?”
Sirius’ stomach fell to the floor before he saw the corner of James’ mouth twitch up. “Right this way.”
By the time Sirius made it back to his own quarters, he was ready to drown alone with his own thoughts. Unfortunately, his room was not empty.
“What do you want, Reg?” Sirius sighed, turning to his wardrobe and beginning to remove accessories.
“What’s he like?”
“Who?” Sirius pulled out his softest night clothes, the ones he kept hidden so Kreacher wouldn’t throw them out.
“ James .”
“He spilled tea all over the table linens.”
“Is he really that clumsy then?”
Sirius shrugged, unplaiting his hair. “He was laughing.” Regulus fell silent, and Sirius wandered about, preparing for bed. “Is there something else you needed, or are you going to watch me sleep, too?”
Regulus strode silently through the door to their shared library. Suddenly hit with exhaustion, Sirius collapsed on his bed and fell asleep.
~
The next day was filled with the kind of bureaucratic bullshit that made Sirius want to pull his hair out. James and Sirius were corralled into the country’s finest carriage, with sharply whispered instructions from Walburga to not mess up. Sirius, suddenly unsure despite James’ warm smile, fell back on his training. He dutifully pointed out the most profitable portions of the county, and introduced James to only members of society his parents had previously invited inside the castle.
After lunch, James abruptly stopped halfway into the carriage, pointing to a path that led into the woods. “What’s that?”
The footman closest to James peered around the carriage wheel. “That goes to Heartbreak Ridge, sire.”
James lit up. He slid his hand into the crook of Sirius’ elbow. “Please, show me! A place with such a name must be extraordinary.”
Half of Sirius began to panic. This wasn’t part of the regular tour. He didn’t have a script for Heartbreak Ridge. The other half confidently led James into the woods. The moment they were out of earshot, James turned to him.
“Thank goodness, I thought we’d never be left alone. You look like you’ve seen another ghost, Sirius, are you alright?”
Sirius glared. “I’m always pale.”
James peered at him as though he could see whether Sirius was lying. “Something else is going on here,” he murmured to himself, one finger tapping his chin. Then he spun around and grandly gestured to the ridge. “Do you have another exceedingly dull tale of ancestral financial heroics?”
Sirius couldn’t help it. He laughed. Once James joined in, the two of them ended up lying on the forest floor, wheezing gleefully at the dappled sun.
“I suppose Walburga’s speeches don’t work as well on you as they do for her...compatriots,” Sirius said, once he’d caught his breath.
“Indeed not, I’m far too hilarious to be entertained by such drudgery.”
The second half of their day was much more pleasant. Sirius told James the things he liked about his kingdom. By the time they met up with Regulus for afternoon tea, Sirius felt as though he’d known James his whole life.
It didn’t escape his notice that when Regulus appeared, James instantly became more subdued. Not the formal, son-of-a-king who had met Walburga and Orion the day before, but definitely not the same James who had suggested, not an hour earlier, a wild and enticing prank to pull on the head footman.
All the better, Sirius thought as he watched James kiss Regulus’ hand. Reg never liked pulling pranks anyway.
A week later, Sirius was beginning to get suspicious. He and James had grown closer than ever, sneaking all over town and pulling innocent pranks. It was like James was the brother he always dreamed of, and he’d nearly forgotten they were supposed to be courting. Without fail though, when Regulus appeared something in James changed. He was more subdued, more...Sirius couldn’t quite put his finger on it.
One evening while they were eating stolen sandwiches on the roof of the stables, James tossed a bit of apple down into his horse’s stall and flopped onto his back. “When are you going to take me to the smithy?” It looked as though he were asking the moon, instead of Sirius.
“What?” Sirius began folding the cloth that had lined their food sack, attempting to appear nonchalant.
“We’ve been all over the city,” James waved his hand. “And I’m beginning to think you’re avoiding it on purpose. Is your smithy no good?”
The silence stretched as Sirius’ mind scrambled for something to say. When he looked up, James had rolled onto his stomach and was peering up at him, grinning mischievously.
“You fancy the blacksmith.”
“ What ? I do not.”
But James was already waving his words away. “His son, I mean. Remus.”
Sirius felt his cheeks warm, and he knew James wasn’t fooled into thinking it was merely the sunset casting lights upon him. The silence stretched again, as Sirius tried to come up with something James would accept.
“I’m not trying to take you away from happiness.” James’ voice was soft. Not teasing.
Sirius shrugged. “It’s forbidden, so.” And then, after a moment, “How did you know?”
“I know what it’s like to long for someone you cannot have,” James said. When Sirius looked up, James grinned. “Also, every package he has delivered, your mouth falls silent, but your eyes do not.”
Before Sirius could respond, a rock landed next to him, clinking gently against the stone shingles. “That’ll be Reg,” he explained to James, and this time he got to watch the subtle shift of carefree prankster to humble prince on his face.
There was no way anyone could actually stand on the roof without slipping, but James still managed to give the illusion, rising onto his knee and shifting so there was a clear spot for Regulus to sit.
Sirius watched as his brother somehow looked dignified and unruffled, despite having just climbed up a rope ladder onto the roof of a stable. “Hello, James. Sirius.” He nodded, gracefully taking the space James had cleared for him.
“Do you two come here often, then?” James asked, settling himself down on Regulus’ other side.
“More when we were kids,” Sirius replied, looking out over the town. Now that the sun had set, most of the light came from the perennial glow of the blacksmith’s fire across the way. “I’m somewhat surprised you’ve joined us, Reg.”
“When Kreacher couldn’t find you, Mother sent me to drag you out of hiding.” He picked an imaginary piece of something off his trouser leg. “You’re meant to meet with a dignitary tomorrow and Father wants to go over…” he trailed off, glancing sideways at James. “Notes.”
James gestured toward the food basket. “Are you hungry, Regulus? We have plenty of provisions.”
Sirius passed the basket over and watched as Regulus carefully selected an orange and began peeling it. “I always wondered,” Regulus said after he’d swallowed a segment, “why you picked this roof. There are others much more hidden from our parents’ windows.” He flicked his wrist toward the rooftops. “But the glow from Lupin’s is beautiful.”
Sirius shoved him gently, but Regulus fell against James anyway. Somehow, Sirius felt Regulus had fallen on purpose. James’ arm wrapped around Regulus’ shoulders, steadying him. “Lupin?” He asked, and Sirius noticed that even though James had lowered his arm, it was still resting behind Regulus.
“The blacksmith,” Sirius supplied, gaze shifting between them. He felt simultaneously content, with his brothers at his side, and suspicious, but he wasn’t sure of what. When he raised his gaze, James was grinning at him.
“The blacksmith? Sirius hasn’t taken me there, yet.”
Sirius only noticed Regulus’ reaction because they’d shared a bedroom for fourteen years. Regulus had gone still- even more still than usual. Then he brushed a wrinkle from his sleeve. Sirius bit the inside of his cheek, silently begging Regulus to...he didn’t even know what. James already knew.
James was suddenly swinging down the rope ladder and strolling confidently toward the smithy. Sirius scrambled after him. Just before he arrived on the blacksmith’s street, he slowed, attempting to walk casually. He heard James’ voice, and then Remus laughed. Sirius’ stomach took up acrobatics. When he rounded the corner, Remus was leaning against the doorframe of the smithy, his leather apron in one hand. Which left Sirius the ability to gaze uninterrupted at the way his chest glistened in the firelight.
“Ah, Sirius! Remus was just telling me about his latest side project! He’s attempting to put together a sort of…” James gestured vaguely with his hands, then grinned at Remus. “You’ll do a much better job of explaining than me.”
Remus, who had gone unnaturally still, bowed. “Your Highness,” he murmured, hand on his heart.
Sirius ran a hand over his face. “Please, Remus, we’ve been over this. That is totally unnecessary.” The three of them stood in awkward silence until Regulus appeared, strolling with the same uncaring formality that he used inside the castle.
“Hello, Remus. How are the bridle fasteners coming along?”
Remus practically fled into the smithy, and Regulus paused in the doorway, turning back to the pair. “You know,” he murmured, quietly enough for only Sirius and James to hear, “communicating is much more effective than staring holes into the dirt.”
Sirius glared at his back, not even distracted by Remus lifting a large crate of fasteners just over his shoulder. After several minutes of silence, and several more minutes of James’ encouragement, Sirius pulled up his princely courage and strode into the blacksmith. It took fewer strides to get to the bench than he remembered, though Sirius knew that was actually because his legs were much longer now.
Remus showed him the device he was making, a kind of spit that held a kettle, with a crank to tip it without actually having to touch anything hot. After the initial stutters of conversation, Sirius got lost in Remus’ voice, his gestures, the way that one curl kept falling into his eyes when he looked down. Sirius’ heart ached with the familiarity of it, the way he was immediately transported back, as though the years they’d had apart suddenly disappeared.
James tapped Sirius on the shoulder, causing him to jump. He heard the clock tower chime eleven, and noticed, happily, that Remus looked almost pained when Sirius said he had to go.
“Come visit any time, your-- Sirius,” Remus said, smiling softly in the ember light. “It was nice to meet you, James.” He gave another bow, though that time it was more of a head tip.
“He certainly will!” James smiled broadly, swinging his arm around the Black brothers’ shoulders, and led them away.
~
Sirius spent two days arguing with both his brothers about whether Remus actually fancied him. The argument culminated in James declaring he was going to settle this once and for all, and disappearing for most of an hour. Sirius had attempted to melt into the floor in embarrassment, and discovered he had failed when James sauntered in, oozing even more confidence than normal.
“I have a plan!” He announced, standing in the middle of Sirius’ bedroom. Sirius just collapsed onto his bed, and Regulus only rolled his eyes and went back to whatever he was writing at Sirius’ desk. “Well.” James acquiesced at the demand of no one. “I have part of a plan. I’m hoping you two will have the other half.”
By the end of the week, the trio were meeting nightly, trying to come up with some way to blackmail Walburga and Orion into letting Sirius stay in the kingdom without ruining the fragile relationship they had with Godria. Regulus had taken over for Sirius in attempting to explain the convoluted laws surrounding inheritance of the throne.
“So you see,” Regulus was saying, “the next in line must be married prior to ascension of the throne, or else the council takes over. Which is also the reason why my parents haven’t killed each other yet.”
Even with his head hanging upside down off the bed, Sirius noticed how close Regulus’ and James’ heads were, pouring over various legal documents at his desk. He watched the way Regulus shifted to press his knee against James’ thigh, and neither pulled back. He sat up. “I still don’t understand why I can’t just abdicate. I don’t want to rule anyway.”
James and Regulus both started-Sirius was pretty sure they’d both forgotten he was here, even though they were in his bedroom. James opened his mouth, but Regulus placed his hand on James’ knee and sighed.
“We’ve been over this, Sirius. The council will fight you on it, because they’re hoping Mother or Father will die before you decide to settle down.” He pinched the bridge of his nose with his other hand. “And at the rate you’re going, they’re probably right. It’s why you haven’t been disowned in the first place. Plus, I don’t exactly have…prospects, so Mother and Father wouldn’t accept it either”
Sirius watched Regulus pull his hand off James’ knee, and it wasn’t until James started shifting that Sirius noticed he’d gone unusually still.
“You don’t want to rule?” James said, half turning around.
Sirius sat up. His blood rushed back down, causing his vision to wobble. “Why the hell would I want to deal with all that, all the time?” He gestured toward the stacks of law books piled around his room. When he felt steady again, he rose, grabbing his coat. “I’m going for a walk. Have fun you two.”
He didn’t even notice where he was going until the heat from the smithy penetrated his coat. Sirius stepped inside, attempting not to look conspicuous. Mr. Lupin was hammering out something and he glanced up as he plunged it into a bucket of water.
“Afternoon, Sire,” He looked to be holding back a smile. “I’ll just fetch Remus for you.” He disappeared out the back. Sirius didn’t bother wondering why Mr. Lupin knew why Sirius had come. Suddenly Sirius was thirteen again, waiting for Remus to come out and play.
But the Remus who walked into the smithy wasn’t the tall, lanky thirteen year old from Sirius’ memory. He was broad from years of hard work, skin dark from both sunlight and the heat of the forge. “Hello, Sirius.”
“Mr. Lupin said you could come out and play,” Sirius said without thinking. The same thing he used to say every afternoon when they were kids.
Remus glanced over his shoulder, and Mr. Lupin waved a towel at them. “Go on, Remus. You haven’t taken a day off in over a fortnight.”
They strolled through town, not saying anything, instinctively making their way to the creek. Sirius smiled to himself at the way they fell in step so easily, at the way they both seemed to know where to go without talking. They’d spent so much time playing in the creek as children. Where else would they have gone?
“Do you have many orders?” Sirius asked, strategically avoiding looking at Remus by picking through a pile of rocks on the shore with his shoe.
“Not really, just the usual.”
“Oh. Because your father said…” Behind him, Sirius felt Remus lose his footing, and instinctively threw out his arm. Rocks slid into the creek, and Remus’ fingers gripped Sirius’ forearm.
“I just like to keep busy.” Remus let go.
“Is it because of James?” Sirius blurted out, half shocked at his own courage. The silence stretched so long, Sirius began to wish he could take the words back.
“Yeah,” Remus said so softly that Sirius almost didn’t hear him over the rushing water.
“I don’t want to marry James,” Sirius declared, half to Remus and half to himself. Then suddenly he turned, and it was Remus’ turn to save Sirius from falling in the creek. “I’m not going to marry James,” he declared again, this time with more confidence.
Remus raised an eyebrow. Sirius grinned and entangled their fingers. “Come on. I need Reg.” He led Remus all the way back to the castle. They made their way through the back garden and Sirius picked up a pebble, tossing it at his own window.
“What are you doing?” Remus asked, brushing his curls out of his eyes.
“If they aren’t kissing I’m going to kill them both,” Sirius muttered, tossing another rock.
Regulus’ face appeared, then disappeared. A minute later, he pulled open the back door, James on his heels. Sirius was pleased to note that Regulus looked slightly rumpled.
~
Sirius defiantly met Orion’s gaze across the desk. Regulus was by his side, explaining to their parents the exact nature of the contract Walburga was currently flipping through. Sirius still didn’t understand all the details, but it didn’t matter. The important part was that Regulus was confident it would work. It had better work , Sirius thought. Or we’ll probably all hang.
“Your father and I will need to discuss this privately.” Walburga placed the stack of papers on the desk too quietly.
Be silent , Regulus had warned, before they entered. Just let me do the talking. So Sirius bit his tongue.
Regulus took two blue hour glasses out of his pocket and turned them, setting one on the desk. “Half an hour,” he declared, rather unnecessarily. “I have already made a copy of the contract, so don’t bother trying to change anything.” He swept out of the room, and Sirius followed.
After ten minutes, Regulus banished Sirius from the parlor. James deposited him at the smithy, where Remus threatened to tie him to a chair if he started pacing. He paced anyway, though not as fiercely as he had been doing in the parlor. Remus just continued hammering, and even though Sirius had no idea what he was making, his pacing slowed every time Remus fell into his line of sight, watching the way the forge light caused Remus’ back to glisten.
When Regulus touched Sirius’ shoulder, he nearly jumped out of his skin. But Regulus was smiling softly, and his fingers were entwined with James’.
~
Sirius twisted the cufflink on his left sleeve, ostensibly watching the door, though he probably wouldn’t have noticed if anyone came in. Regulus patted Sirius’ hand sharply, and Sirius shoved his hands in the pockets of his trousers. After what felt simultaneously like an eternity and far too soon, there was a knock at the door.
Regulus pressed his fingers into Sirius’ bicep. “I’m glad we did this,” he whispered, and Sirius grinned. Then he walked out the door and into the cathedral. Even though the pews were packed, the only person Sirius saw was Remus, standing at the end of the aisle in a cream suit.
~
A month later, Sirius found himself in the same small antechamber, but this time it was Regulus who was fidgeting. As much as Regulus ever fidgeted, anyway.
“Why did we have to have such a big wedding?” Regulus hissed, peering out the window at the garden.
“Because,” Sirius said, brushing non-existent wrinkles out of his jacket sleeve. “Everyone wants to say goodbye to their favorite son.”
“ You’re the favorite son,” Regulus said, automatically.
“Reg.” Sirius waited until his younger brother turned. “No matter what Walburga and Orion wanted, the people here love you. They will miss you, when you’re in Godria.” He pulled Regulus into a hug. After a moment, he felt his brother’s arms wrap around him. “I’ll miss you too.”
He felt Regulus’ breath catch and pulled back before he started crying himself. “Plus I think the Council wanted to throw you a thank you party.”
Regulus rolled his eyes, but the corner of his mouth ticked up.
There was a knock at the door and Sirius opened it, revealing Remus in a dark green suit. Sirius kissed him, fingers twining together and twisting the ring on Remus’ left hand. “Hi. Love you,” he murmured.
“Love you too,” Remus whispered back.
“Are you two finished?” Regulus said, though there was no heat in his voice.
Sirius settled Remus’ hand into his elbow, and turned down the aisle of the church. James stood at the other end, his golden suit glowing against his dark skin. When Sirius and Remus reached James, they bowed and took their place behind him. Regulus appeared, and Sirius felt James’ breath catch. Remus squeezed his hand, and Sirius knew, deep in his soul, that they would all be alright.