'Til The End

Up's and Down's - Part Two

Sirius woke up first, and he thought today was going to be a good day, before he remembered last night's events. Sirius slipped out of bed and pulled on a jumper as he walked across to Harry and Hermione's room. She had been sleeping between Harry's room and the room next to his, but it depended on how she felt. Debating on whether to knock or not, Sirius heard the *crack* of apparition. He fumbled for his wand and stood in front of the door, relaxing when it was only Mad eye. 'Thought I told you not to come today.' Sirius muttered, putting his wand away. Mad eye just shrugged. 'Needed to, lad. Where's Lupin? I'll also need to see the kids.' Sirius scowled at him, thinking about putting a charm on the kids room. 'You won't. Didn't I say what happened yesterday? We know it's them and Dumbledore and McGonagall will be round later.' Looking back, Sirius remembered they hadn't actually checked to make sure it was Harry and Hermione, but he was sure it was. 'Remus is still asleep. Leave him alone as well. He hasn't left this house.' Moody spun on his heel and apparated straight out, leaving Sirius alone in the hallway. 

He decided to knock, just in case they were awake. When there wasn't a sound from inside, he stuck his head in. They were both awake, Sirius could hear them whispering. 'Can I come in?' He whispered as loudly as he could. Hermione's head came round from the other side of the bed. 'Yeah.' Both Harry and Hermione were sitting staring into the fireplace, mugs of hot chocolate and a bowl of marshmallows in between them. 'Are you two ok?' Sirius sat cross-legged next to Harry, not wanting to disturb them too much. 'Yeah.' Apparently both Harry and Hermione were robots today. Sighing, Sirius continued, 'Dumbledore and McGonagall want to come and see how you are. I said I wanted to try and talk to you first though.' Hermione's head was on Harry's shoulder, and neither of them seemed to be paying any attention. 'Ok.' Harry said, and Sirius got the impression they wanted him to leave. 'I'll leave you to it, you want anything you come to us straight away, alright?' Harry nodded, and gave Sirius a one-armed hug as he stood up to go. 'Good.' Sirius closed the door behind him. He crossed the hall back to his own room and, seeing Remus awake, crawled back into bed beside him. 

'Hi.' He whispered, shifting his head onto Remus' chest. Remus' arm automatically extended around Sirius' waist. 'Are they ok?' Remus asked, his right hand playing with Sirius' mass of hair. 'I'm not sure. They seem to have spent most of last night staring at the fireplace drinking hot chocolate and eating marshmallows.' Sirius looked up at Remus' face, but it was difficult to read. 'At least they're ok.' Remus said, but he didn't sound sure. 'I heard you and Mad Eye having an argument outside. What the fuck was he thinking?' Sirius didn't reply, too busy worrying about Hermione and Harry. 'I'm going to go make breakfast.' He said, and went down the stairs before Remus had a chance to respond. 

Sirius didn't exactly why he had to get away from Remus, but when Sirius was scared he always wanted to be near Remus, not away from him. There were footsteps on the stairs, and Sirius tensed, wondering if it was Remus coming down. These conversations usually ended in shouting and throwing stuff and crying and Remus sleeping in the spare room. It was Harry and Hermione, both looking as though they hadn't slept since Sirius woke them up at half five. It was now ten thirty, and Sirius supposed he should try and get exactly what happened last night out of them. But he needed Remus. 'Morning kids,' Sirius said as brightly as he dared, 'anything particular you fancy for breakfast or did you eat your fill in marshmallows?' Harry was already at the coffee machine, slipping a capsule into the top. 'Marshmallows.' He mumbled, putting a mug in the machine and setting another on the counter. 'Coffee?' He asked, his hand hovering over the cupboard handle. 'No thanks, Harry.' Sirius went to the bottom of the stairs, 'REMUS! ARE YOU COMING DOWN?' He yelled, knowing if he went up there'd be a fight. Remus didn't reply, and Sirius knew he'd have heard. So, sighing, he went back into the kitchen and made himself a coffee anyway. Harry and Hermione were watching his body language over the rim of their mugs. 'Did you and Remus fight?' Hermione asked. Sirius turned, his eyebrows raised in surprise. 'Not yet.' He said, now turning back to the coffee machine. Neither Harry or Hermione said anything else, but Sirius felt their eyes watching him as he moved around the kitchen. Getting impatient, he went back to the bottom of the stairs. 'REMUS! ARE YOU COMING DOWN?' He shouted, louder than before. No response. Sirius had the urge to punch something, but Harry and Hermione were still watching him through the doorway. He took a deep breath and went back into the kitchen, taking as long as possible to make breakfast. 'Are you ok?' Harry asked as Sirius beat the crap out of the eggs. 'Fine.' Sirius lied.