Although it must have been late enough to have been considered early, Remus could feel that Sirius was still awake. He could also hear it; the latter would periodically toss and turn over, giving an occasional exaggerated sigh.

"Sirius?" Remus asked quietly, unsure whether prying was the right thing to do. He almost always pretended to be asleep on nights like this, when Sirius was kept awake by some horrid memory best left untold.

"What will I tell Harry," Sirius responded anxiously, "if he asks about girls?" That hadn't taken much prodding, Remus thought to himself.

"That's what's been keeping you awake?" Remus turned over and looked strangely at the man laying beside him. Sirius shifted slightly to return the stare, although his mind was clearly elsewhere.

"He's fifteen. It's just--something Hermione said back when I looked in at the Commons-" Sirius began, ignoring the question.

"I still cannot believe you did that. I have asked you not to risk your life like that again, haven't I?"

"Yes, Molly."

"I happen to respect Molly Weasley's position, even if I don't always agree with what she may say. You should consider it from her point of view."

A pause, then- "But, honestly, what am I supposed to tell him?" Remus sighed heavily at his companion's rhetorical question. Better let Sirius rant about it until he was tired enough to listen to another opinion. "I'm not just going to up and admit I don't know...Can you imagine James' reaction, if he'd ever found out?"

"But he's not James. Sirius, we've discussed this..."

"Fine, but I don't fancy seeing Harry's reaction to the fact his professor-"

"Former professor---"

"-And godfather are essentially the equivalent of-and I hate to say it-Arthur and Molly!"

"Maybe it won't be an issue."

"Don't pretend that you've not wanted to tell him from day one."

"I haven't, Sirius! You have. Who keeps the bedroom across the hall? I do, and we both know I've never slept in that bed. It's for appearances only. Harry--He can learn it on his own. He's quite bright, I seem to remember giving him an O on his exam."

"Remus, if he hasn't figured it out already, and we know he hasn't, maybe he's a bit more thick than we'd like to admit."

"I'm sure Hermione's worked it out by now. She knew I was...She knew about me before anyone else did, really."

"Well, she's got a lot to learn, Hermione has. I doubt she's told Harry, in any case. I'm sure we would have heard about it from Molly by now."

Remus chuckled. "I can imagine."

" 'The only reason Remus is on HIS side is because they're shagging like rabbits! And I won't HEAR A WORD of it in front of Ginny!' " Sirius yelled, imitating Mrs. Weasley not half as well as her sons could.

"I seriously doubt Molly has or ever will use the term 'shagging like rabbits'. 'Fornicating like scarlet women,' perhaps..." A few minutes of muffled laughter passed between them before Sirius spoke.

"Do you maybe---I was thinking..."

"Yes?" Remus' voice sounded bemused.

"Well, I told you about that Defense club they've got meeting right under Delores Umbridge's nose--"

"I really shouldn't be as satisfied by that as I am."

Sirius smiled widely in the dark.

"Well, you know...Christmas is coming up. I was hoping Harry might come to stay for a few days, if Dumbledore lets him. Actually, I was hoping you'd be here too."

"I'll do my best."

"Do you want to go in for a gift together?"

"Oh-Sirius--I don't know--"

"If it's about a few quid, don't worry about it. I didn't mean it that way, I just meant...maybe...we could, I don't know, sign both our names on the card or something."

"I've never given him anything before." Remus commented thoughtfully.

"It's time you started. Now, I'm sure, it's slightly more appropriate," Sirius said, looking pointedly down at the twisted bedclothes between them. "And you'll have to go and get it, seeing as I'm unfit to leave."

Pensive, Remus nodded in the half-light, his face only partially illuminated by a guttering candle on the bedside table. "All right," he conceded. "Although he might still ask you for advice about girls."

"Is the boy that dim?!"

"Why don't you just tell him? I can't imagine it's healthy to keep secrets of this ... magnitude from your godson."

"The Order's been keeping far bigger secrets from him; I feel perfectly entitled to knowing Harry doesn't suspect a thing about us."

"But Sirius, you don't agree with that, come now. We both know how you feel about keeping things from Harry. And it's really still my fault we haven't yet told him, so I say we tell him over the winter holiday."

"If you're here," Sirius muttered darkly.

"We can put it on the card, if you like."

"It's one thing to tell Harry we're fornicating in sin, but it's another to have it in writing. How about writing just 'From Sirius and Remus' or something?"

"Now who's keeping up appearances?"

"Point taken."

"Mr. Moony requests that Mr. Padfoot blow out the candle."

"Mr. Padfoot accepts this request and will certainly do so, and dearly hopes it will not be the only thing blown tonight."

"On second thought, maybe it IS best if Harry not know about this..."