By: Evangeline Henri
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Coming home means coming back to problems left behind. Sirius returns, and he and Remus must face fourteen years of unresolved demons. (Remus/Sirius SLASH!)
Archives: fanfiction.net; all others are welcome to it, just let me know
Disclaimer: Of course, I can claim but the plot- the rest is J.K. Rowling's.
A/N: Without Paul Simon (Graceland) and Dar Williams (Mortal City), there's a good chance this might have never been written.
Dedication: To Kitten, my wonderful beta, at whose shrine I will forever be laying down bouquets of roses. (Do you have a shrine?) And to Atalanta de Lioncourt, as ever. Love you much…ly! Also, to the beach and those wonderful nights of… Scrabble. I love you, Yumie.
WARNING: The piece that follows does contain slash, i.e. homosexual relations between major characters. If such a topic is unpalatable to you, feel free to skip this story. You have been advised.
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Chapter 1"… because, for every exodus, there must be a homecoming."
The night had almost lulled Remus Lupin to sleep in front of the fire when a knock on the door pulled him awake. It grabbed his frayed blue cable knit sweater by the collar, and shouted into his ear to get up; there was someone there.
He rubbed his eyes crossly, and stretched his arms above his head as if attempting to grab hold of the ceiling. His legs had that unpleasant feeling that they had almost been asleep as well, and were as resentful of the interruption as the rest of him was.
Getting up out of the sagging armchair was a most unwelcome proposition. When his jellied legs touched the ground, his toes recoiling at the cold floor, Remus considered just settling back down. But then there was another knock, and somehow he knew whoever- or whatever, for that matter- was bothering him this late at night, it was probably not going away anytime soon.
He wandered over to the front door, flipping on light switches as he went. Electric lights always made the most comforting clicks as Remus turned them on; he refused to even consider using magic instead.
Reaching the door, he slipped his hand into the back pocket of his trousers. He felt the comforting contours of his wand, and pulled it out. Better to be safe than sorry. He undid each of a line of locks and bolts, making sure to stroke the last one three times with his left index finger.
He wrapped his fingers around the brass handle, and swung open the door.
Waiting patiently on the doorstep, sprawled out across the ridiculously oversized Welcome mat so that it obscured all but the 'w' and the 'e', was a large black dog.
Sirius Black.
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(end part one)
Note: Since this was so short, the second part will be up very shortly.