All right, my lovelies. Here it is. Over a year and a half later... The final chapter. This is it. I hope you like it.

Part Seventeen

Character Interaction -

"Dammit, you two!" Lily was still raging. She could see the disbelief on their faces. They were so bloody stupid. Typical boys.

"Lily, hush," James said, softly, trying not to sound angry. He wasn't angry, but he knew Remus and Sirius so much better than she did. He knew how to handle this, and she certainly wasn't handling it right.

Folding her arms, Lily fell silent, leaning against the wall behind James' seat. There was no use in fighting him right now. Maybe he really could do this better than she could. After all, they were his best mates, not hers.

"Sirius," James began, looking hard into the dark eyes of his best mate, "You told me years ago that you had feelings for Remus. You told me to keep that a secret, and I have done just that. Until very recently," he admitted, feeling no shame in the statement. "Last week, Peter came to me with information that was also supposed to be confidential." James now looked at Remus. "As I understand it, you also confessed your feelings for Sirius to Peter. After finding this out, I had to break your trust, Pads, for your own good." He paused, taking in the reactions of his mates.

Remus was very blank-faced and much paler than usual. He looked like he normally looked just before a transformation. Sirius, on the other hand, was bright red. Never before had James seen him quite that shade of scarlet. Both boys were staring directly at him, refusing to look at each other. James could only imagine how awkward this must be, but they all knew it was for the better.

When no one said anything, Peter piped in. "I'm sorry, Moony," he said, hanging his head. "I didn't mean to tell anyone what you told me, but I had to. It's not fair to you guys to torture yourselves. It's just not fair."

Remus moved his gaze from James to Peter. He nodded, swallowing the lump in his throat. He found his voice, though it sounded as though he hadn't used it in weeks. "It's okay, Pete." That was all he could say.

"You know we're not lying. I can see it on both of your faces," James said, looking from one boy to the other. "I can see the truth on your faces. Now, you just need to accept that and accept the truth from each other."

He stood up from his seat, grabbing Lily's hand as he pushed himself away from his seat. "Come on, Pete," he said, waving the plump boy over to him. "They need some time to talk, I think."

James smiled as kindly as possible at the two boys left sitting at their table. Peter waved as he made his way out of the pub, followed by Lily and James who, still holding hands, smiled sympathetically. "We'll catch up with you later," James said quietly as they wove between tables and around their fellow Hogwarts students. Back out into the cold Hogsmeade street they went.

They had left Remus and Sirius in a very awkward situation. Neither boy had looked at each other since Lily's explosion. Neither boy knew how to take what their friends had said and believe it. Too long had they spent their time trying to convince themselves that there was no way they could ever both love each other equally. Hearing the very opposite of that to be the truth was a lot for them to handle.

Always the first to open his mouth, Sirius turned his head to face Remus. Taking a deep breath, he began, "Rem?" Remus turned to Sirius, still stark white. "Remus. . . Are they. . . . Are they telling the truth?" He didn't know how else to say it.

Looking deep into those stormy eyes he could always lose himself in, Remus replied very quietly. "What they said about me was true. The rest, well, only you can answer that, huh?" There was a shaky confidence in his voice. He didn't know why or where it was coming from, but for some reason, he really believed James and Lily, and he really wasn't mad at Peter at all. A small part of him was actually quite grateful towards the boy. Now, he just needed to hear it straight from Sirius.

The dog animagus was nodding, but he wasn't speaking. He was standing up. He was moving away from the table. He was beckoning Remus towards him. They were leaving the pub, stepping into the frozen street. Somehow, it seemed to get chillier the farther they walked from the pub. They hadn't said a word since leaving the pub. Remus was merely following Sirius to wherever it was he was headed. They were leaving Hogsmeade. They were entering Hogwarts grounds, but they weren't heading towards the castle. They were heading towards the lake.

Stopping at its edge, Sirius sat himself down. "Come here," he said to Remus, pulling his sleeve as if to yank him to the ground. Remus obeyed. "If what you said was true," Sirius began quietly, "than everything they said was true. What they said about me wasn't a lie." He was avoiding Remus' eyes again.

Remus wasn't going to allow that. He had gone through enough with Sirius. Sirius owed this to him. Grabbing his chin gently, Remus turned Sirius' head to face his own. Their eyes locked. Cold stone and molten gold. "I've loved you my whole life, Sirius." Remus stated, feeling rather bold at the moment. In his mind, he had no reason not to be.

"Remus," Sirius breathed, pulling him forward, pulling him upon his lap. He wrapped his arms around the werewolf's waist, resting his hands on those wonderful, bony hips. "I love you more than you can imagine." He didn't know what else to say.

"I don't have to imagine it, Sirius," Remus replied, "I've felt it my entire life."

This was not like the first time. This was not one-sided. This was passion. This was intensity. This was love.

Their lips connected as though pulled by a slight magnetic force. They locked upon one another and refused to let go. For a long, wonderful minute, their lips moved upon each other and nothing else. Their hands wandered, their minds screamed. Their hearts skipped a beat. The love emanating from that one kiss was more than either boy had ever felt before in his life.

Their lips broke apart in a gasp. Before either could get a word in edgewise, Sirius stood up abruptly, dropping Remus to his feet carefully. Taking his hand, he pulled him across the grounds, back towards the castle. He had something he desperately wanted to show the werewolf.

MWPP

"Here it is," Sirius said, as he stooped under his bed, pulling out a slightly beat up leather-bound book. "You remember giving me this, right?" Sirius asked, looking up at Remus hopefully.

"Of course," Remus answered. "You hated it."

Sirius blushed slightly. "Well, yeah," his tone changed quickly, "But I really don't anymore. I want you to read it. Everything I wrote in it is true. And most of it is about you. Go ahead," Sirius urged, seeing the hesitation on Remus' face. "Read it."

And so, Remus sat upon his best mate's bed and opened the little black book. He began at the first page, reading all the way through to the entry written earlier this morning. Though he started out laughing at Sirius' ludicrous scribblings, by the end, tears were shining in his eyes, threatening to run down his cheeks. He couldn't describe the emotions in him right now. It was true. Everything James and Lily had said was completely true. It was all right here. In this journal Remus had given to Sirius as a birthday present.

Sirius was sitting on a bed across from him, smiling placidly. He couldn't explain the happiness bursting into life inside of him. "Rem?" he said quietly, seeing the blank expression on the boy's face. "You okay?"

Remus nodded. "Can. . . Can I write something?" He didn't know why he was asking this, but he desperately wished to write something in the journal. Sirius tossed him a quill full of ink, telling him to have a ball.

Sirius' Journal -

November 22nd Saturday Afternoon

Well, if you can't tell by the change of print, this isn't Sirius. It's me. The giver of this journal. It's Remus. I have no idea why I wish to write in this, but I feel I express myself better on paper than I ever could in words. So, here it goes.

Sirius, as I'm sure you're going to read this immediately after I finish writing it, I'll just straight out say what I want you to know. I love you. I have always loved you. I want you to understand and believe that, just like I have come to understand and believe you entirely.

I want to be with you. I have always wanted to be with you. You are my everything. I want you for myself. I want you to be mine and no one else's. I refuse to share you any longer. I am much too in love with you to do that any longer.

Tis me again. As Remus guessed, I certainly did read this directly after he finished writing it. And apparently, we are going to do this through a note system. . . . In my journal. Well, I did always say Remus was a weird one. But whatever he wants.

In reply to his comments: I love you too. I always have. I do understand and believe you because I share your feelings. And you are with me, you stupid sod. You're sitting right across from me!

Sirius! That's not what I meant and you know it!

Yeah, yeah, I know. I was only kidding! And stop reading over my shoulder!

Okay, ANYWAYS, as I was saying, before you so rudely interrupted me. . . . I AM yours. I've always been yours, you just didn't know it, I guess. And you don't have to share me anymore. I'm done with everyone else. Now that I know I can have you as my own, what use would they be to me? I don't need them. They're nothing compared to you.

Well, I should hope so. That's definitely good to know. I love you, Sirius.

I love you too, Rem.

. . . . Are you really going to make me ask you out, or can I just declare it right here that you're my boyfriend?

I think you just answered your own question.

Oh yeah. . . . So, Boyfriend, how do you feel?

Amazing.

Oh, really?

Yes.

November 23rd 1 AM Sunday Morning

Well, that was certainly the most interesting journal entry yet. I'm sure it would've continued, but you know me. I get distracted easily and Remus was right there…. Declaring his love for me and whatnot. Writing just wasn't very appealing anymore, if you know what I mean.

To say the least, we moved on to much better and more exciting things. And today, November 23rd will be the first day of the rest of my life. Today, we have decided, will be the first day of our relationship. Today will be, from here on, the most amazing day of the entire year. Every year. For the rest of my life.

P.S. James and Lily never came back to Gryffindor Tower last night. I think we all know what that means. I'm so proud of my Prongsie!

There you go. And now it's over. sobs. I already miss it [ I really hope you enjoyed it. All of it. As in, the whole story. Please leave me a review so I know how you felt. I love you all and I'll desperately miss your reviews and comments on my favorite story ever!

The one and only,

Prongsie :)