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There was a loud CRACK at the front door - the telltale sign of an apparition. Remus was back from his mission with the Order, just translating some potentially relevant prophecies, a much more mundane task than his previous missions attempting to infiltrate Fenrir’s pack.
He hadn’t heard from Sirius while away, which wasn’t unheard of - owls could be tracked, fire calls were hard to make when one didn’t have a fireplace readily available, et cetera. He could feel the buzz and hum of the wards around the front door of their London flat.
As he turned the door knob and stepped through however, they felt different than the wards he had placed on the house previous. It felt as if he were walking through a film of acidic invisible vapor, the sensation crawled over his skin and fizzled and popped. Something must have happened while he was away for Sirius to redo the protection charms, but they still welcomed him, albeit cautiously.
The floorboard under his foot creaked as he stepped in through the threshold and shut the door behind him. The flat was fairly dark, but it was late at night - he assumed Sirius was already asleep or perhaps on his own Order mission. He turned to the hat stand, unwinding his scarf from his neck and hanging it on the hook.
“Stay where you are,” a voice rasped behind him, eerily familiar and yet completely foreign to him. Remus slowly turned around, hands raised and fingers spread to reveal open palms, finding a wand directly in his face and the owner of that wand - Sirius Black.
“You take a surprise well,” Remus huffed, expecting Sirius to lower the wand, but something was different about the eyes. They were wide and searching with a flicker of something Remus hadn’t seen in a long time - fear. Trying to keep his voice mellow and calm as if he were attempting to not frighten a feral animal, he asked, “Sirius, what’s happened?”
Sirius blinked a few times, dark circles prominent on his face. His hand trembled as he desperately tried to keep his wand steady. He didn’t speak, just kept staring at Remus as if he hadn’t even spoken.
“Tell me what I need to say for you to believe it’s really me,” said Remus, voice pitched low and even. His hands were still raised and he kept his own tremble out of them. He searched his brain for something to tell Sirius, some way to make him believe it was really him. Once his guard was down, maybe he would get more answers.
His heart ached seeing the man he loved fighting with his eyes, his mind, his heart, trying to reason who was standing in front of him. What horrible things have happened to them already in their short young lives for Remus to also feel a bit proud knowing that Sirius would not be easily convinced had it not been him, had he come across an actual intruder.
“Birthday. My birthday this year, what did you get me?” Sirius croaked, voice hoarse.
Remus couldn’t help but snort before replying, “nothing. You wouldn’t let me spend money on you.”
Sirius’ gaze narrowed, but his wand remained steady at the center of Remus’ face. “That was too easy,” he grumbled, frustrated with himself. Remus had to agree, anyone could guess that - it was fairly common knowledge that Remus Lupin didn’t have much money so it was a simple answer to guess.
Remus remained patient, still standing in the doorway of his home, waiting for Sirius to think of something else. He, too, racked his brain for something to ease Sirius’ skepticism, but sometimes too much information made things worse. He longed to reach out to Sirius and hold his shaking hands, wrap him in his arms, and will him to sleep while Remus kept watch for more real life nightmares.
“What did I write in your arithmancy text when you fell asleep studying in the common room in sixth year?” rasped Sirius, the corner of his mouth quirked up.
Remus smirked as well. “You didn’t write anything, but you drew a rather large phallus.”
“Agh, I believe it’s you,” whispered Sirius, lowering his wand arm slowly. “Only Moony would say phallus.”
Remus lowered his hands too and there was a stretch of silence as the two looked at each other. Then, they hugged, hard. Sirius’ hands gripped tightly at Remus’ wool coat, tugging him somehow closer. Remus rested his face in the crook of Sirius’ neck, breathing him in. His skin was covered in a thin cold sweat and he shivered a bit as Remus’ warm breath hit his skin.
“What happened?” Remus whispered.
Sirius grunted. “Polyjuice,” his voice muffled in Remus’ shoulder. “Moody says we’ve been too careless. Have to ask something - something only they would know.”
“Yes, but what happened?”
Sirius pulled back, hands cupping Remus’ face as his gaze darted around his features, committing them to memory. “Diagon Alley,” he said after a long pause. “There had to have been twenty or more of ‘em. I–I don’t want to… I’ll show you the Prophet, you can see for yourself.” Remus turned his head to kiss Sirius’ open palm. “Are you back for good this time?”
Remus’ heart sank. “I’m only here for the night,” he replied. He had another werewolf-related mission the next day. “Will you be okay?”
Sirius smiled and stepped back, pushing Remus’ coat off his shoulders and hanging it up behind him. “Course I’ll be fine,” he muttered, voice a bit agitated by the assumption that he would be otherwise. “What do you want to do with the couple hours you have?”
“Well I’m starving,” Remus said with a heavy sigh and Sirius snorted.
“Course you are.”
Remus elbowed him playfully in the ribs as they both wandered into the kitchen. Sirius began to putter away, pulling out some bread and fixings for a sandwich, while Remus hung back in the doorway.
“I’d just like to pretend this isn’t all happening,” he murmured, so quiet he didn’t know if Sirius had heard him until he looked up. “Just for tonight.”
Sirius smiled and nodded. “Just for tonight.”