Thomas Potter-Love is a Different Dimension

Love's Pain: Earth's and Sky's Purpose

31st July 1997

Sirius POV:

Under the invisibility cloak, sitting beside his best friend with their feet disillusioned watching his kids enjoy the day out under the sun. Everywhere is so warm, the future so bright, it's like he's never spent a day in Azkaban.

"Lord Morgana, I feel so old,"

Remus chuckled, sipping his magical thermos of hot tea. "I hear forty is the age where life truly begins... so chin up, Pads, this is just the beginning,"

"Ugh," Sirius complained, pulling back strands of silver from his wrinkled forehead. "Almost forty-al-most! Where did the time go? It felt like yesterday we were sneaking into our dorms after a full moon run," Now they were babysitting teenagers on a date.

Remus twists the cap of his thermos carefully. "I know what you mean, ...sometimes I think of our school days...and it feels further away from here and now,"

Sirius watches Tom hold out a hand to Harry. His kids handholding, strolling through the park for Harry's birthday. Sirius used to be stuck in the past, reminiscing the good times- afraid to forget. Worried those were the only happy memories he would ever have.

But children force you to think about the present. Closing the curtain over the bad times- his parent's abuse, James and Lily's death, cold pitiful years wallowing in a magically draining prison. It seemed impossible then, to think that Sirius had gone through all that, and here he was.

In this spot of warmth in his life.

Tom and Harry were Sirius's here and now.

"Moony,"

"Hmm?"

"I miss James. But sometimes I'm glad...that we're here,"

Remus kept his eyes on his cradled thermos, a small smile on his lips.

***

And a woman spoke, asking, Tell us of Pain.

And he said:

Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.

Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its heart may stand in the sun, so must you know pain.

***

Remus POV:

Any stranger who met him now, would never know how Sirius was once the brightest star in the crowd.

Lengthy black hair and sharp cheekbones, silver eyes glinting youth and mischief, black nails waving gallantly at you.

"Moony! Mo~ony! This compartment-over here!" Remus remembered what it felt like to be thirteen, it was the day after the full moon and everything hurt. The sight of his friends, took all the ache away.

James would pull him into a rough side hug, Peter would offer him the window, and Remus would sink into the familiar comfort of those who knew him.

Sirius would open his expensive truck and hand out his latest goods, "Looking a bit peaky there Moony, have a chocolate frog, yeah?"

In retrospect, Sirius had always been that way. He was still a bully and sometimes unnecessarily cruel, but when he loved, he loved like the night sky. Stretched out and encompassing. Remus was blinded by his own demons, too cowardly to take the invitation with both hands. If Remus wasn't wallowing in his own insecurities, he'd see that Sirius gave love fiercely. James maybe filled his days, but Sirius would take away the fear of the moonlight.