The Now of Wolf Thought

Twenty Questions

Remus opened his eyes and looked around the large room. He was the only person in the infirmary and so he cast lumos with his wand and eyed the Runes text book. Opening the cover, he saw the oddly shaped parchment "envelope" and took it in his hand then opened it. He saw the small mirror and instantly recognized it as having once belonged to Sirius; this meant that who ever had the other was wanted to talk to him...He prayed that it was Sirius. He looked into it, but saw only darkness.

"Psst...Hey...Padfoot..."

Knowing that Sirius had always been a night owl, he tried again.

He smiled and called out quietly in a sing-song voice, "Paaaaddy....?"

"You rang," an unusually deep male voice came from the darkness, causing Remus to chuckle quietly...Sirius always loved the character of Lurch from the Addams Family...he cursed the day when his mother introduced Sirius to the American show, via the comic strip Sirius sent away for films of it...spent a fortune...and then, he had to find a projector to play it on, didn't he? He and Remus' mother sat up until the middle of the night watching the few shows that Sirius managed to get a hold of. Finally, a light source emanated within the mirror and a man who looked like he could be Sirius came into view, only it wasn't the Sirius that Remus knew and so he wasn't completely certain of the man's identity. He hoped that this man was the grown up Sirius. "Hello Moony," he said tenderly; there is a loving smile on his face and it brings Remus nearly to tears as he sees for the first time how haunted the man had become and his smile faded. "I've been waiting for you to contact me. Took ya long enough, mate."

He collected himself quickly, but he was certain that Sirius saw it, just from the look on his face.

"Hey...Had to wait...Poppy...you know how she is?"

"I remember." Sirius' smile widened and he chuckled. "Do I really look that bad? I reckon I need to wash my hair. Tonks said that I shouldn't wash it but for maybe twice a week."

"Who's Tonks?"

"My cousin. You remember Andromeda don't you?"

Remus nodded. "Yeah, I only saw her a few weeks ago. She and her husband attended Mum's funeral. Tonks is her daughter, Dora."

Sirius closed his eyes and looked off into the distance at someone or something...Immediately, Remus heard another man's voice and his ire became raised...Sirius is with someone else..."Who's with you?" Oh my god, he thought. He's a grown up now...why the hell do I care who he's with?

Sirius' eyes veer off toward another direction again and if asking a silent question. When his eyes return to the mirror, he sees the nearly heartbroken look of Remus' face.

"Who is with you, Sirius."

It wasn't really a question, but rather, more of a demand for a truthful reply.

Sirius' gaze moved again. "I'm telling him anyway," he said. Then his eyes stared into the misty hazel eyes in the mirror. "You are, Remus. " He nodded. "The grown up you. I'd show you, but then I'll hear about it for months on end." He shook his head and rolled his eyes...Remus fought to keep from smiling at the man...Sirius was being his over the top dramatic self...one of the things that exasperated Remus the most about him, but it was also one of the things he loved most. "And quite frankly, I simply can't deal with a broody Moony. No matter what his bleedin' age is. So both of you cheer up right now. Padfoot is on the case."

Remus laughed as the tears fell on to his cheeks. "Thank you for sitting with me last night."

Sirius nodded and smiled. "You're welcome, Moony."