/𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐒\ [𝒔. 𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌]

𝟓.𝟠.𝟤

"What?" said Sirius, as if startled. "Of course I'm coming tonight, what kind of a question is that?"

"But- but we-" Remus was too tired to finish his sentence, but Sirius seemed to get the message.

He shook his head and sat gingerly down on Remus's bed. "Look, mate, I don't think we're ever going to agree about this Artemis thing."

"But-"

"Hold up." Sirius held a hand up. "But you're one of my best friends. Do you remember when we made that pact in our first year after we abandoned Peter that one time we snuck out?"

Remus laughed a little. "Yeah, I remember."

"We made a pact to never leave a man behind. No matter what. So yeah, I'm coming with you guys tonight... if that's okay."

In that moment, Remus was reminded not of the pact they made, but of the time he told his friends he was a werewolf, and the way Sirius had accepted him with no doubts or trepidations. He knew it was rare to find a friend like that. "It's okay," he said. "And I'm sorry I shouted at you. I probably shouldn't get so involved in you and Artemis, it's never a good idea, you know."

Sirius let out a dry chuckle. "And I'm sorry I tried to beat the shit out of you. Good thing James was there, or I might've done it."

"You definitely would've beat the shit out of me," said Remus. "I'm a twig compared to you."

"Yeah, but you could've gone full werewolf on me." Sirius feigned a look of fear. "I mean, it was stupid on my part to try and beat up a monster-"

"Don't make me do it now," Remus warned, but he was smiling more than he had in days. "Now, is that tea for me?"

Sirius looked over at the mug of tea like he was seeing it for the first time. "Oh, yeah, I made it as a peace offering. Come here, I'm gonna help you sit up." He moved across the mattress to help Remus into a sitting position, and then gently set the cup in his hands. "Also, please never go full werewolf on me."

"I couldn't if I tried," said Remus, and he leaned his shoulder into Sirius for support as he drank his tea, still marveling at how lucky he was to have the friends he did.

~

Artemis knew she should break things off with Bones, but she couldn't bring herself to do it for reasons she couldn't even explain to herself. It wasn't exciting anymore, and maybe she liked Bones, but she didn't know that that was exactly what was keeping her. Regardless, she sat in his office late one night, the two of them talking about everything happening in the wizarding world. "D'you think You-Know-Who will take control of the Ministry?" she asked in an offhand voice, examining her newly painted nails carefully.

"I think he already has," said Bones. "Or at least his followers have. I mean, have you seen some of the policies they've been making lately? Absolutely fucked up." He put his cigarette out in the ashtray on his desk and leaned back in his seat, kicking his legs up onto his desk, right next to where Artemis was sitting.

She nodded slowly and swiped a second layer of polish expertly onto one finger. "That makes me so mad."

"Yeah," said Bones, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "You look so mad about it."

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Artemis, finally looking up at him.

He gave her a tilted grin. "You're too distracted by your nails to give a shit about politics."

"That doesn't mean it doesn't make me mad," she said, her voice a steady tone of haughty indifference. "Just because I'm not running around screaming about it doesn't mean I'm not mad. There's just nothing I can do about it right now."