Pinky Promise || Wolfstar

Chapter 9

Sirius padded across the grass—slightly damp from April showers—and cocked his head, pricking his ears as he heard footsteps going down the tunnel. He inched closer to the door, sniffing at the cracks, trying to find the scent. He had a suspicion who it was—he should never have gotten that close to Remus at the lake, but he couldn't help himself—he'd just wanted to get a glimpse of his love and of his godson. And now Remus was going to try and take him in. That wouldn't be so bad—as long as he got to Peter, the traitorous little bastard, first.

Sirius inched ever closer to the gap he used to get in and out in dog form, listening for footsteps, but thankfully the only ones he could hear were heading away from the shack. He ventured in cautiously—it could always be some idiot school kids, doing this on a dare. Merlin knows, he and the Marauders participated in plenty of those back in their day. He felt a stab of pain at the thought of his friends and shook his head, his ears flopping back and forth. One of them turned inside out, and he rolled his eyes, sniffing the air. Yep, Remus had been here recently, but he was already gone, leaving the shack empty and desolate. He looked down the tunnel that led to Hogwarts for a moment, a low whine sounding from his throat, but he reminded himself that he was a wanted fugitive. Remus wouldn't do anything other than take him to the dementors, since he had allegedly killed James and Lily, and nobody had any evidence to dispute it. Tail between his legs, he slowly walked up the stairs, stopping dead when he smelled something familiar.

Chocolate.

Sirius bounded up the stairs, on alert for any traps. There weren't any—his time in Azkaban had left him very sensitive to any and all types of magic. He was even able to sense some young muggleborns in a few of the muggle towns he'd visited. There was no magical trace anywhere in the shack, though; just the faint scent of Remus, a chocolate bar, and some paper. He trotted over, and his heart leapt at the sight of the signature:

Your Moonykins.

Sirius bounded around the room in joy, overturning several pieces of furniture, because Remus had written to him. And that nickname...Remus had hated it when Sirius gave him that nickname, all those years ago. It had been their inside joke. Well, Remus hadn't found it very funny at the time...

Sirius charged into the hospital wing, bag of chocolate in hand. He'd enjoyed the Hogsmeade weekend, to a degree, but he'd also been distant the entire day—at least, according to Prongs. To be fair, he was right—all Sirius could think about was how much Remus would like all the pranks in Zonko's, how good he would look in that emerald scarf in the window of Gladrag's, and how he would scour the entirety of Honeydukes to find the best chocolate. Sirius wound up spending most of his pocket money on chocolate for Remus—which was a lot of money, since he'd decided to try and singlehandedly make his parents go broke while in Hogsmeade. It wouldn't work, of course, but it's the thought that counts, after all.

Despite the extension and lightening charms he'd put on it, the bag he had was quite heavy. He narrowly missed Remus as he dumped the bag on his hospital bed with a grin, his face still chilly from the cold November air. He grinned at Remus' expression—he was trying to appear sarcastic, with one eyebrow raised and the rest of his face carefully neutral, but Sirius didn't miss the way the corner of his mouth twitched, nor the slight twinkle in his eye.

"I brought some chocolate for my Moonykins!" Sirius grinned, starting to pull chocolate out of the bag.

Remus huffed at the nickname, but still unwrapped one of the larger bars of chocolate and took a bite, a slight groan escaping his mouth. He suddenly remembered himself, and shot a mocking glare at Sirius. "If I wasn't confined to this bed, I would slap you across the face."

Sirius smirked—it was a little difficult to take Remus seriously with chocolate at the corner of his mouth. "It's a term of endearment." He laughed softly, wiping away the chocolate away with his thumb, his eyes twinkling. "Because I love you, of course. You're the only one for me."

"Must you be so cheesy?" Remus rolled his eyes and took another bite of chocolate, not quite hiding his small smile as he muttered, "I love you too, unfortunately."

"It's 'cause you're so cute." Sirius smiled wickedly. "You're my lil' Moonykins."

"I'm literally half a foot taller than you."

"But I'm older." Sirius retorted as he plucked a bar of chocolate off the bed, elbowing Remus to get him to move over before climbing into the bed.

Now in human form, Sirius chuckled to himself as he stood from the dusty floor—how on Earth had they possibly thought they were straight?

He'd been so lost in his memory that he had no idea how much time had passed before his mind cleared and he remembered that he should probably read the rest of the note. He delicately unwrapped a corner of the chocolate bar as he read:

Dear Padfoot,

I can't even begin to tell you how sorry I am. There aren't any words for the magnitude of my betrayal, nor the guilt I am feeling.

You may be a little confused right now—have a read of the newspaper. You might find it interesting.

At the moment, I'm working at Hogwarts as the Defence professor. I wouldn't be opposed to a visit from a black dog, should he want an explanation.

Your Moonykins.

Sirius sank to his knees, rereading the note over and over again, tracing the words written in Remus' cramped, messy script, mouthing the words until the image of the note was burned into his brain.

Sirius couldn't even begin to distinguish the emotions battling inside him as tears streamed down his face. He stood on shaky knees, carefully placing the note next to the newspaper. Right, the article. He broke off another square of chocolate, relishing the taste, as he looked at the front page, the huge, bold, capitalised letters screaming in his face.

SIRIUS BLACK CLEARED OF ALL CHARGES AS NEW EVIDENCE COMES TO LIGHT

"What?" Sirius murmured under his breath. He rubbed his eyes, then pinched himself on the arm, convinced that this was a dream, because really, where would this new evidence have come from?

A quick skim read of the rest of the article told him—a few weeks ago, Peter had been caught by Moony and some teachers, hiding as a student's pet rat. Veritaserum was quickly administered, after which Peter was forced to retell the events of that night. He'd been sentenced to life in Azkaban, but more importantly, Sirius was cleared of all charges.

Sirius felt a flare of anger at the idea that he wouldn't be able to get his revenge on Peter, but it quickly gave way to rational thought. He was free. He could see Remus. He could see...

He could see Harry.

He could have a proper family.