"Rem," says Sirius as I'm leaving the compartment. His hand on my shoulder stops me. I turn back to face him.

"I've got something for you," he explains, grinning slightly. I'm worn out, still exhausted from the full moon a few days ago. It's difficult to summon up enthusiasm, but then, who can resist Sirius Black?

He's turned with his back to me now, digging through his trunk. When he comes to face me again, he's clutching two identically wrapped squares. I take the one he offers and curiously take off the paper. It's a mirror.

"Siri..." I say quietly, looking up at him, getting ready to ask.

"It's a two-way mirror," he explains. "I keep this one and we can talk with them this summer."

Impressed, I hold it up to look in it. Sirius does the same with his now unwrapped mirror and I see his face staring out from where, in a normal mirror, mine would have been.

"Sirius?" I say out of curiosity. I hear two voices- one coming from my mouth, the other from his mirror.

"Wicked," both of Sirius's faces say to me.

I look back up to the real one. "We can use these anytime?"

He nods. "Wherever we are, whenever. As long as we both have them with us."

Grinning at my boyfriend, I reply, "I'll keep it with me. Thanks Siri." I lean in and he meets me in the middle, and I kiss him for the last time before summer break.

~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~

"Remus!" the familiar voice speaks from my pocket just as I'm lifting a sandwich to my mouth. I quickly take a bite and then pull out the mirror, perking up immediately when I see Sirius. Until I notice his expression.

"Sirius. What's wrong?" I ask worriedly.

"I fucking want out of here," he exclaims. "Stupid James had to travel this summer with Lily so now I'm stuck in the 'Noble House of Black'. And I fucking hate it."

"What happened?" I sigh. I've heard many tales of Sirius's family, and it pisses me off so much that he has to deal with it. I'd take him in for the summer myself if it weren't for the fact that we wouldn't be able to keep our hands off of each other and I'm not out to my parents.

"They keep talking about all of you guys. My friends. All about how they don't approve and what a horrible influence you've been, getting me landed in Gryffindor. And I was right, Regulus does suspect us. He's just full of these snide little comments, stupid sexual stuff that mum and dad are too clueless to get. But I can tell he's threatening to drop the bomb." The heat of his anger rises with every word, reddening his perfect face until I can practically feel the steam through the miles and the glass connecting us.

"He wouldn't dare," I reply, shaking my head. "He knows the four of us could hex him into next century. And who looks stupid if you prove him wrong?"

"He's the favourite," Sirius shrugs. "They'd believe him over me."

"It's gonna be okay, babe," I assure him. "We're a week in; it'll be over before you know it." I was lying. A week without James, Peter, and especially Sirius had already felt like an eternity.

~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~

I pass the first full moon of the summer painfully and alone. It always seems to take me longer to recover when I don't spend them with my friends, and I'm perfectly content to stay in bed nursing my injuries over the next few days.

"Sirius," I call hoarsely into the mirror after waking up from a long sleep, two mornings after the full moon.

"Hey, Rem, how'd the full moon – oh my god. You look awful."

"Thanks. Yeah, it was shit. How've you been?"

He shrugs. "Taking into account that I'm at home, pretty decent. But seriously, what happened to you?"

I just shake my head. "Talk to me. I'm in a lot of fucking pain so please distract me."

"Um...let's see..." Sirius knows by now that when I curse, I mean business. He immediately begins searching for a subject. "How about 'Tales of Regulus Black's Immature Sex Jokes'?" At my nod, he launches off, and I half-listen to the words. Mostly I just take in his voice with my eyes closed.

As he finishes his story, he must think I've fallen asleep. "Remus?" he calls softly.

I open my eyes. "I'm awake. Sorry."

"That's fine," he says, grinning. "I was just getting a little bored." I watch my boyfriend lean back and stretch lazily, instantly interested.

"And what did you have in mind?" I ask, playing along.

With a wink, he continues, "Well it is summer, and it's awfully hot in here. I may have to get rid of this..." slowly he grasps his shirt at the bottom and pulls it up.

He's right – it is hot in here, but it has nothing to do with the fact that it's summer and everything to do with his hand reaching down and undoing his zipper.

~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~

Sirius and I talk nearly every day for the next month, and use our mirrors for... less holy purposes...almost every night. Before I know it I'm saying goodbye for a few days again, preparing for the full moon.

This one is as bad as the first, if not worse. Well into August, the Dog Days of summer make every day unbearable, and transformations twice as painful as usual. I come out of it alive, which, to be honest, surprises me a little. However, I'm covered with bruises, cuts, and bite marks from where I've dug my teeth into myself to distract from the pain of the transformation. Sirius's voice issues out of the mirror every few hours the day after, but I don't want him to see what's happened to me, so I ignore it.

"Remus John Lupin, if you don't answer me right this second, I swear to Merlin that I will –"

"What?" I sigh, barely able to get my voice above a whisper as I pick up the mirror from my bedside table.

"Holy shit, Remus. What the hell?"

I shake my head. "It's August. They're always the worst. I'm okay."

"Like hell you are. Why haven't you answered me all day?"

"'Cause I knew you'd freak out when you saw me," I explain. "Pretty much like you are now."

"But, Rem..." he trails off. "I just want to help. You look so pathetic and everything." I don't take it as an insult for once; I'm just too tired. Instead I sigh and wipe a hand across my forehead.

"You okay?" he asks, eyebrows knitting together. I nod with a shiver. "You've got a fever," he says, looking worried.

"It's fine; it's happened before," I assure him. "I'll be fine."

Suddenly his face disappears from the mirror. I'm confused for just a moment until he's there, in the flesh, standing beside my bed.

"Why didn't we think of this before?" I murmur as he crawls in next to me.