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Chapter Text

It was like the war all over again.

Colourful flashes lit up his vision - white, red, blue- after living in the darkness of Azkaban for thirteen years, he was more sensitive to light than he was back in his younger days. Everything seemed brighter back then.

Sirius bared his teeth in a grin as he indulged in the familiar dance with Bellatrix. She had been tormenting him long before she had anyone else and Sirius was going to enjoy seeing that backfire on her.

He moved backwards, slowly inching his way to Harry. He had to keep an eye on the boy, he was more of a danger magnet than all the Marauders combined. Sirius continued deflecting his cousin's attacks, ignoring the exhaustion seeping into his bones. 

'Constant vigilance.' Moody's voice snapped in his head.

Sirius swiftly dived away from Bellatrix to fight off a dark haired man, it was hard to tell who he was with the mask obscuring his identity.

It was almost nostalgic, duelling with death-eaters with a Potter by his side. Despite his weariness, it sent a familiar thrill through Sirius. He didn't bother with words, the need for those were trained out of him decades ago. He threw silent spells left and right at the two death-eaters, trying to keep Harry out the line of fire.

Bellatrix's cackles echoed around them. After over a decade of hearing them down the hall from him, they grated on Sirius' nerves. 

With a swift flick of his wand, Sirius blasted the dark haired man away from them. Which left Malfoy for him to—

"Expelliarmus!" Harry exclaimed, Malfoy's wand fell from his hand. 

"Nice one James!" Sirius praised absently. With Malfoy only having a cane to defend himself, Sirius took the chance to show off, lunging forward he twirled his wand, making the cane fly out of Malfoy's hands. Then he blasted the fucker across the room.

He caught Harry's eye as he turned around. They were exactly like Lily's, down to the last speck. Sirius would know, James went on and on about her eyes until even Remus, patient as he was, promptly told James to button it.

He should tell Harry that story, along with the one about James—

"Avada Kedavra!" Bellatrix's voice took on a dark, guttural tone—

A sickly shade of green flashed across Harry's eyes, wiping away the remnants of better days—

Green lit up his vision, bright and blinding. A blast of cold against his chest reminded Sirius of that snowball fight he had with Bella that one time. Except, instead of making him run away with laughter in his throat, it made him as still as nothing itself.

The brightness faded, letting Sirius catch a glimpse of his godson's wide, horrified eyes. That was all the confirmation he needed. Despite the dread, Sirius mustered a weak smile. Falling backwards, tingles washed over his skin, the veil, he realized.

The fall seemed to go on forever – is there anywhere one can land in death?– perhaps this is it. Sirius just falling and falling and falling—

Two strong arms caught him, holding him tightly. "You idiot ." A comfortingly familiar voice hissed at him.

"Reggie?" Sirius gasped, he stumbled, trying to spin round to see his brother. 

"Disappointed?" Regulus asked in that dry tone of his. Sirius blindly reached his hand in the direction of the voice, only to get said hand slapped away. "Stop moving you dimwit, you just died. Take a moment."

Sirius stilled. "I died." He said quietly. "Oh Merlin, Harry, I just left him there—"

"Breathe, Siri, breathe." Regulus said softly, Sirius felt him lower them both to the ground. 

Sirius whipped his head around, panic rising in his gut. "Where are you? Why can't I see you?"

"Because your eyes are closed, idiot." Regulus said with a huff. Sirius could hear the amusement in his brother's voice.

Heat rushed up the back of his neck. "Oh." 

With that in mind, he slowly opened his eyes, blinking rapidly as the light around him filtered in. Regulus' face came in and out of view as Sirius adjusted. When he could finally see without a sharp pain stabbing through his head, he focused on his brother.

Regulus' dark curls were messier in death than they were in life, he noted. His silver eyes shone brightly, like they did when he was a child and believed Sirius could fix everything. 

Then there were faint white lines, across his neck and jawline going all the way under his sweater. Scars that had healed over time. Sirius felt something in him twist as he wondered about Regulus' death.

But his brother was grinning, bright and wild compared to the reserved smiles that Sirius has always known. The corner's of Regulus' eyes were crinkled and his marble smooth cheeks were cut with dimples.

He looked happy.

"Well I feel like a right twat now." Sirius said, heat slowly fading from the back of his neck.

"You are a twat." Regulus said matter of factly. Sirius sputtered, he had forgotten what a snarky shit his brother could be. "But I did the same when I first arrived here. A lot of people close their eyes when facing death, like it will go away if you do." 

Even after decades apart, Sirius could decipher what Regulus was actually trying to say. I was scared when I died too. He knew that it was meant to be a comfort, but it just hurt. Like death had ripped off every shield Sirius had collected throughout his life, threw away his swords and said 'Face yourself.'

That night flashed through his mind, Regulus coming to him, asking for a moment. Just a moment. And Sirius telling him to go to hell. That was the last time he saw his brother. He's almost sure that it was the last time anyone did.

"I went to your funeral." The words tumbled past his lips, like they had to be said. As if to make up for every word he didn't mean, didn't speak.

Regulus' smile faded into something softer, more sad. "I know." 

But Sirius wasn't done. "I regretted it, what I did that night." Told you to go to hell, pushed you and watched as you caught yourself by grasping the edge of the alley wall.

"I know." 

But how can he? "I cared, I did, Reggie. But I just couldn't—"

"Merlin, Sirius, I know. I was there. For everything." Regulus said.

"What?" Sirius asked. Regulus' eyes dropped to the floor, even as Sirius grasped his hands.

"I couldn't very well stay here without you, could I?" Regulus mumbled. His silver eyes flickering back up to meet Sirius' own.

The exact words Regulus' ghost had said to him in Azkaban, every Hallows Eve when Sirius' sanity was holding on by a thread. 

Sirius felt a lump in his throat and was mortified when he realised Regulus' form was blurring due to the stinging in his eyes. Horror rose up in him at the idea that out of everyone, his little star had witnessed the very worst of him and chose to keep shining on him anyway.

"I wanted to be there for you." Regulus said softly, caution in his eyes. 

Sirius dropped Regulus' hands in favor of pulling him into his arms and holding him as tightly as he wanted to in life.

"I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry." Sirius choked out, ignoring Regulus shaking his head against him.

Regulus let out a shaky breath. "Me too."

They held each other for a while. The last time they had done something like this was the night before Sirius went to Hogwarts. They shared the silly secrets only children could have and made promises that rang falser and falser with each year that passed afterwards. Even though, in that moment, they truly meant the words said.

Could holding someone tightly enough make up for years of neglect and resentment? Probably not. It would likely take the eternity laid out in front of them to heal such wounds. But it would be worth it.

Sirius looked around as they pulled back, his eyes widening when they landed on the all too familiar train tracks.

"We're at the station?" He asked.

It was quiet, absent of it's usual chaos. It kind of resembled one of the places you stumble onto at a strange point in life. Like Diagon Alley when it's empty, The Forbidden Forest in the afternoon or a Muggle shop at three in the morning.

In fact, it was almost as if he was outside of time. He very well could be, actually. Death may be strange like that.

Regulus chuckled. "Weird, isn't it?"

Sirius' brow creased. "Did you just say 'weird?' Not strange or oh so peculiar?"

"Is that truly how you think I spoke?"

Sirius smirked. "You were always the posh one." He said. Regulus rolled his eyes with a huff. Barely dead and he's already pissed his brother off, that's got to be a record. "Why are we here?"

"You chose to be." Regulus answered. At Sirius' confused look he elaborated. "When you die, you usually end up in a place of great significance to you. Somewhere that made you happy. Somewhere that changed you or impacted you in some way."

Sirius grimaced. "Is this where I'll be forever?"

"Of course not, idiot." Regulus scoffed as if Sirius should just get all of this. 

"Oh my apologies, for not knowing everything after being dead for two minutes." Sirius muttered, scowling.

Regulus' lips twitched upwards. "You'll figure it out, Siri." Was all he said, the cryptic fucker. Sirius wondered if Regulus had picked up that particular trait from Aunt Cassiopeia. 

Sirius, in all his magnanimity, decided to let it go when another question popped into his head. 

"Where was your place?" He asked.

Regulus smiled. "Quidditch Field." Sirius hummed encouragingly. It had been much too long since they had been able to talk to one another with such ease. "The sun was shining and everything was so quiet, peaceful. I was exhausted, so I just lay on the grass and relaxed. I must have stayed there for hours."

Sirius laughed. "Lazy git." He said, bumping Regulus' shoulder with his own.

"In my defence, I was soaked through." Regulus said, punctuating his sentence with a dramatic sniff.

Sirius' smile froze on his face. Slowly, it fell away as he once again pondered his brother's death. 

Sirius had always assumed that his brother had died fleeing Voldemort. Or trying to. He had always known that Regulus' heart wasn't really in it. Not in the way Bellatrix's was. Regulus abhorred violence and avoided conflict at all costs, no matter which side was the cause for the conflict or which side was inflicting the violence.

When he had received the news of his brother's passing. Sirius had hoped that his brother's death was quick and painless, because he knew there was no amount of hope that would bring Regulus back to him. But of course his death wasn't easy, nothing ever was for them.

"Did they— did he drown you?" Sirius forced the words out his throat, not actually sure if he wanted to know. But he had to. Despite the idea of his little brother unable to move as a limbs locked spell held him still, lungs burning as they left him in the water.  Because that's how they would do it. All because Sirius couldn't listen.

Regulus tilted his head. "You could say that." He mused. He spoke as if he was telling Sirius about a book he picked up from the shops on his way home. "It's actually quite a long story."

"I'd like to hear it." Sirius said softly.

Regulus' calm facade melted into something more genuine. "I'll tell you. Once you stop berating yourself over the parts you already know." Sirius didn't get the chance to speak before Regulus continued. "I wouldn't have come with you if you offered — not for a lack of wanting to. But because one of us needed to stay behind. I made the choice to do that."

"So I should've knocked you out and taken you anyway."

"My views on Muggles weren't as harsh as I pretended they were, but I did look down on them." Regulus stated. Sirius clenched his jaw but remained silent. "I didn't believe in everything He preached, but I believed in it enough to let myself be forced into getting the Mark at fifteen—"

Rage swelled in his chest. "Fifteen?! That noseless twat, I'll kick his—"

Regulus laughed. "Siri." He said, taking his hand. "Do you understand what I'm saying?" He asked. Sirius merely shrugged. "We both made choices, some good, some bad. But overall neither of us can take the blame for each other's actions or split second decisions made when we were fifteen and scared or for lashing out at an enemy in the middle of a war." Regulus looked into his eyes as he spoke. "And I think you know that."

"You're my brother, not my bloody enemy, Reggie." Sirius said in favor of heeding Regulus' words.

"Your hero complex never stops working against me." Regulus said, exasperated. "Luckily, we have an eternity to rectify that."

Sirius laughed. "Good luck with that." 

Regulus went to speak when the nostalgic sound of a train on tracks had them both exchanging grins and standing up.

"I'll tell you one day." Regulus reiterated. He looked at Sirius, his eyes alight with mischief. "But for now, we have a train to catch." 

Chapter Text

Regulus went to speak when the nostalgic sound of a train on tracks had them both exchanging grins and standing up.

"I'll tell you one day." Regulus reiterated. He looked at Sirius, his eyes alight with mischief. "But for now, we have a train to catch." 

Sirius raised his eyebrows at Regulus. "And where exactly are we going, little one?"

The train was rapidly approaching at a speed more suited for the Knight Bus than the Hogwarts Express.

Regulus laughed, loudly and freely. For a moment, it was like looking at a reflection of his younger self. 

It took Sirius back to midnight escapades and too many detentions. Strutting under the sun with a cigarette between his fingers and two boys nagging him about smoking being a bad habit. One half heartedly listing mortality statistics, the other saying 'You'll be the first asthmatic dog in human history, Pads.'

"Wrong question, Siri." Regulus said, bringing him back to the present.

"You're such a little shit sometimes." Sirius grumbled.

Regulus slung an arm around Sirius' shoulders. "I fell in with a dodgy crowd in the afterlife." He said.

Sirius would have prodded for more answers. But frankly, he was still in shock from hearing his brother say 'dodgy .'

The train sped into the station and halted with a godawful screech making them both jump back.

Sirius stared at Regulus in betrayal. "Oh for Merlin's sake. I'm going to hell, aren't I?" Sirius sighed.

"They don't have room for you, unfortunately." Regulus said dryly.

Sirius kicked his shin and scrambled away  towards the train before Regulus could retaliate. 

It sat in all its glory. Glossy red paint shining under the station light, looking as pristine as it had when he first boarded it.

Sirius gave himself a moment to take in the vessel that had driven him to his first true home. Where he met his chosen family, who swept him into a world of courage, chaos and rebellion. 

A place that impacted you, changed you. Those words rang true as Sirius realized that this train led him down the path that made 'Sirius Black.' Whatever that name may mean now.

Sirius caught his reflection in the window and gaped. His skin was smooth, unwrinkled by the years he had lived through. His eyes were brighter, like they were before Azkaban. He wasn't sure what age he looked, as the years from eighteen and twenty-one blurred together in that ambiguous stage between boy and man.

He smirked as he saw what he was wearing. His beaten up leather jacket that he overpaid for in a Muggle charity shop and a pair of scruffy jeans he once nicked from Remus. Merlin, he looked like himself again.

"Oi! Stop flirting with yourself and get over here you git!" A voice that he hadn't heard in fifteen long years, bellowed at him from a few carriages down.  

Sirius' head snapped to the source, not daring to believe it. Death couldn't be so kind to give him both of his brothers after all. Not after everything.

But Sirius' eyes found a head of messy black hair and he just knew.

"James." He choked out past the lump in his throat, struggling to take in the bespectacled eyes that had haunted his memories. 

And James  – the fucker – was just leaning against the carriage door, grinning at him.

"Padfoot." He said, his eyes shone in the same way Harry's had when they reunited at Grimmauld Place.

"For Merlin's sake, James! Would you stop being a dramatic arse so I can hug him already?" Lily's voice carried down from the front of the train and  – Sirius' heart was getting too big for his chest, he had never known happiness to be so painful  – she popped her head out the window of the driver's carriage smiling brightly as she yelled.

Of course she was the madwoman who drove this bloody train.

James pushed himself off the door and hopped off the train, Sirius was sprinting towards him before his feet even touched the ground and tackled James in a hug just as he went to leap forward.

The impact knocked the breath out of him and Sirius was almost certain that he had accidentally elbowed Prongs in the side, but that didn't matter.

Sirius closed his eyes, shielding against the sting of tears threatening to fall. James was warm and solid in his arms, breathing shakily against Sirius' cheek. The last time he had seen his Prongs, he was a cold, vacant corpse on the floor leading to the stairs where the cries of a baby echoed down as Sirius realized he had lost his family—

As if knowing what he was thinking, James squeezed Sirius tightly enough to break a few ribs and cut off his breathing but he couldn't give less of a shit about that. He was finally home.

"It's been boring here without you, mate." James said, his voice thick.

"Well fuck you too, Potter." Regulus muttered as Lily huffed out a laugh. Sirius was sure he had forgotten how to breathe at this point. The void left in his soul by years of loss, slowly began to close. Was this what it meant to heal?

James huffed a laugh next to Sirius' ear. "Shut it, Black." 

"So you're the dodgy crowd my brother's fallen in with." Sirius said, he snuffled when James' hair tickled his nose.

"We are perfectly respectable, thank you very much." Lily said from beside them. Sirius moved to hug her but James clamped onto him. Lily began flicking James in retaliation. Merlin, this was exactly like seventh year. 

Regulus let out a snort. " Respectable , right."

"Prat." James muttered. He gave in to Lily's onslaught of flicks and reluctantly let Sirius go, ruffling his hair as he went. 

Only one thought was ringing in Sirius' head as his eyes flickered between the three idiots he had missed for years.

It's real.

Sirius was in a daze and he could only catch Lily as she jumped into his arms. 

"Evans." He murmured into her hair, it still smelled of that Muggle shampoo that she always used before.

"It's Potter, actually." She said in that playful tone of hers. And Sirius just had to do it, he picked her up and spun her around, revelling in her loud laughs echoing through the station. 

"You better pick me up next you git!" James yelled. Sirius snorted, he had forgotten how high maintenance his Prongs could be.

"He didn't spin me around either." Regulus muttered. Correction, Sirius had forgotten how high maintenance both his brothers were.

When Lily's feet touched the ground again she slowly pulled back, enough so that he could see those all too familiar eyes, which shone brightly as they looked up at him. Like Harry's, before Sirius was lost to him. 

In that moment Sirius realized that the colour green would forever make his heart hurt for something that wasn't there. 

"Thank you," she said. "For protecting our Harry."

"I just wish I could have done more." Sirius said. His heart clenched, recalling that night in Grimmauld Place. With Harry quietly telling him what he endured every summer over a lukewarm cup of tea at one in the morning. Sirius had sworn to fix it, somehow, some way. Now he would never get that chance.

Lily's eyes dimmed. "Us too." She said hoarsely. 

Sirius kissed her forehead, smiling sadly at the wet chuckle it earned him.

"He has your eyes." Sirius said softly. 

But he wasn't done. Because everyone said that before writing the rest off as James. Which was an insult to both of them, as it painted over both of their true natures in favor of telling a simplistic story. And in doing so, erased their memory. 

No, they never truly knew James Potter. And they certainly didn't know shit about Lily Evans-Potter. Luckily, Sirius was more fortunate than them.

"He has your kindness as well, your temper and your bravery," He smiled, brushing away her tears sliding down her face. "He also inherited your cheek, unfortunately." Sirius said with a grimace. Harry was a sassy little fucker at the worst of times.

Lily laughed. "Bollocks, that part's all James."

"Prongs never smacked me on the nose with a newspaper when I was Padfoot." Sirius grumbled. Lily shrugged as if to say 'what can you do?'

"— Honestly, you have no room to be critiquing other people's hair, Potter." Regulus' voice drifted over to them from across the station where he stood with James. They must have moved to give him and Lily a moment.

"What's that supposed to mean?" James asked. He did that thing where he began puffing up like an indignant tom cat. Sirius grinned, he really had missed the bastard.

"It means that you look like you've been shagged upside down in a storm, Prongs." Sirius said loudly.

"They have a point." Lily added grinning mischievously.

James gasped. "I want a divorce." He said, gesturing madly as he walked back over to them. Sirius snorted at the dramatics, Prongs missed his calling as one of those Muggle performers.

"From which one?" Regulus asked, his eyes flickering between Sirius and Lily.

Sirius lost it, he burst out laughing at the affronted look on both Potters faces.

"Oh fuck you, baby Black." James grumbled, he tugged Regulus into a headlock and began making a valiant attempt to make Regulus' hair look as bad as his own.

"Let me go you twat!" Regulus growled.

Sirius could only wince at the oncoming wandless hex that Regulus would be bestowing on James. But before such a thing could come to fruition, Lily clapped her hands together twice in quick succession. Both boys yelped as they were zapped apart. When did Evans learn that trick?

"Well? Are we getting on this train or not?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Not if you're driving." Sirius said, eyeing the train. It very well could be possible to die twice. Lily huffed as if he was the unreasonable one here.

Regulus shrugged. "She's efficient." He said. Of course that would be his take on it.

"Come on, Pads. We only crashed a few times on the way over." James said, slinging an arm over Sirius' shoulders.

Regulus snorted. "Pads?"

"Makes him sound like a sanitary towel  doesn't it?" Lily added, laughing. She linked her arm with Regulus' and they began picking apart the Marauders nicknames. Which apparently weren't as subtle as Sirius had believed them to be.

Sirius' first instinct was to berate James for letting this happen. But from the amused resignation written in every line of his body, Sirius would just be kicking Prongs while he was down.

"How long have you been dealing with this?" Sirius asked, trying not to laugh when James just sighed as if he was forty years old with five kids and a mortgage. 

"Apparently, they've been talking shit about us since they were Prefects. They just picked up where they left off when Lily and I got here." James said. Sirius grimaced sympathetically, Lily and Regulus combined would be a trial for even the most patient man. Remus, for example—

Wait.

"And Moony just failed to mention it?" Sirius asked. Remus was a Prefect too after all.

James laughed. "Don't be silly, Padfoot. He joined them."

Of course, Sirius had forgotten what a bastard his Moony could be. It was a horrifyingly easy scenario to imagine. The three of them in their little meeting room, snickering over tea as they exchanged stories of the Marauders antics. Merlin, the stories .

"We're fucked, aren't we?" Sirius said as they stepped onto the train. 

" Eternally fucked, Siri." Regulus corrected from his place next to Lily, who was fiddling with an array of levers and knobs in the driver's seat.

James was leaning against Sirius as he bickered with Lily- something about making the train fly? - and Regulus was smiling at Sirius like every bad thing from the past could remain there. 

And perhaps they could. 

If Sirius could have had this moment as a memory in Azkaban, those soul sucking fuckers wouldn't have stood a chance against him.

Sirius' heart lurched as he and James stumbled when the train sprinted forwards on the tracks. Oh sweet Morgana, Sirius was pretty sure he just saw sparks flying up by the windows.

"Bloody hell Evans! You're mad." Sirius exclaimed over the trains screeching, holding onto James like he would a teddy bear.  

Lily grinned, her eyes lighting up like fiendfyre was dancing in them. "You love it, Black." 

Sirius stopped for a moment. The later part of life had trained a caution in him that his younger self would have scoffed at. Losing everything had made him more careful in ways that no one but Remus had noticed. Perhaps Minnie too.

He was still loud and brash, willing to take the necessary risks to push The Order forward in their quest to defeat Voldemort. But he had lost that part of him that was wild without reservations, savouring every moment of freedom he had. The boy who had spelled a motorbike to fly and laughed as he fell from it before he broke his leg, that boy was lost.

Or perhaps he had just been buried. Because Sirius barked out a laugh and rushed to the space next to Regulus, dragging James with him.

Sirius ruffled Lily's hair, ignoring her huff. "What were you saying about making this thing fly?" He asked.

James let out a whoop as Lily smirked and pulled the green lever next to her.

Laughter rang through the carriage as the train dragged itself off the tracks and up into the air.

Slowly, the worries from the life he left behind began to lighten. He could be at peace, knowing he'd get to see them all again one day. Maybe Sirius would check on them, like Regulus had done with him.

But for now, he was free, he was home . 

Sirius could finally rest.

Chapter Text

With the adrenaline coursing through his veins it was easy for Remus to hone in on the ball of green light barreling towards him. There was nothing he could do to stop it as it crashed into his chest, leaving a numb coldness in its wake.

Maybe Death would take mercy on him and let the monster in him rest in nothingness rather than suffer in findefyre. After everything, all he'd lost, surely Remus had earned that. 

Remus had dimly registered falling after the spell had hit him. But he never expected to feel the hard ground beneath him. Nor the scent of wet earth and nearby herbs, or the joyful cries of people around him, people that surely can't be wherever he ended up.

Slowly, Remus opened his eyes. The sparkling tapestry of the night sky greeted him. The last of his frayed nerves were soothed when he realised there wasn't a moon in sight, never mind a full one.

"Behold, he has already proven himself to be smarter than you, brother." A vaguely familiar voice said. It reminded Remus of polite nods and civil conversations in the library. Of long nights walking around the corridors lamenting over the idiocy of his friends with a wry twist to his lips.

Life had been brighter back then.

"Shut up, you said that everyone does it." Remus' heart stuttered like it did when knife coloured eyes glinted under the light of the full moon. Silently saying 'I'm here to stay.' In every way that mattered.

Those eyes had been reflecting a sickly green last time Remus saw them. And he hadn't seen them in anything other than nightmares since. 

Sometimes the nightmares were dreams. Of quiet mornings, peppered kisses and sleepy chuckles or endless bickering over things that were so inconsequential in hindsight. Those were the worst ones.

Remus kept his eyes trained on the sky. This was likely a hallucination, his mind's last stand before Death claimed him for good. He didn't move or dare so much as to imagine  their faces. He wanted one last memory to take with him. Even if it was fake.

"Speak for yourself, my eyes were wide open." Remus tried to remember to breathe. Could it be her? The girl who he shared books with in the common room, the only one who never asked about his scars? The woman who married his idiot of a friend and claimed Remus as family? 

He had forgotten what her voice sounded like over the years. But here he was, remembering. It hurt more than he thought it would.

"Well, good for you then." Sirius grumbled.

Remus almost twitched when someone poked his cheek. "He's not saying anything–why isn't he saying anything? Moony, why aren't you saying anything? Moony say something, Moony, Moon—"

A familiar annoyance surged through him. "Would you button it for a moment, I just died." Remus snapped. 

"Touchy." He could hear the pout in his voice. Merlin, James could be so dramatic sometimes—

Remus' mind screeched to a halt as annoyance gave way to an almost painful joy. "James." He choked out. 

"Hello there, old friend." James said softly. Remus' heart clenched as he picked up on the smile in his voice.

"Why won't you look at us?" Lily asked softly.

Remus let out a shuddering breath. "Because you're not real."

A phantom touch on his wrist. "We are. Promise." Sirius murmured.

Remus shook his head. "You can't be."

A familiar face popped into view, blocking Remus' view of the sky. Regulus stared down at him, judgement clear on his face. "Lupin, be reasonable." He said, rolling his eyes. "Would I be here if this was some pathetic, wishful hallucination of yours?" Remus bristled, surely it wasn't necessary for his hallucinations to be so rude? His breath hitched. Unless—

"Merlin, Reggie! You're such a prick sometimes—" Sirius began to shout in Remus' defence. His tone was lacking the usual bite it usually held when faced with his brother, if anything, Sirius sounded closer to amused than anything else.

"Oh, it is real." Remus said, his voice surprisingly level. After all, his friends were never this irritating in his nostalgic memories of them. He smiled up at the Slytherin. "Thank you, Regulus."

Regulus smirked, offering Remus his hand. "See? Lupin appreciates me." 

Remus took the hand and pulled himself up into a sitting position. He barely got a second when a flash of red hair took over his vision and he was tackled into a hug. 

And of course, instead of waiting for their turn like civilized people, James and Sirius added themselves to the pile. Remus laughed, letting the love he thought he'd lost forever surround him once more.

He felt Sirius move his head so that they were cheek to cheek. "Welcome home, my love." He murmured into his ear.