SIRIUS decided that he was going to stay up until Charlus returned, but as the night grew later, he started to feel nervous. No matter how many times Maeve told him that it wasn't his fault, it didn't make him feel any less guilty. Not only did Charlus carry his own stress, but Sirius knew he was adding onto it every night with his nightmares. He didn't want that for them and he hoped that Maeve's newest sleeping draught would help both of them. But as it neared three in the morning, Sirius couldn't take it anymore.

"He still hasn't come back yet, has he?"

Remus entered the living room where Sirius had been sitting up on the sofa, waiting for Charlus' return. Maeve had long gone to bed with both men reassuring her that Charlus would be back soon enough and there was no need to worry. Clearly, they had only said that to make her feel better as they were holding their own doubts.

"Why do you care?" Sirius grumbled. "He's fine, he's probably just walking somewhere."

"Oh come off it, Sirius, he's walking around somewhere at three in the morning? You know damn well that it doesn't sit right with you. And as angry with you are with me, you know I care about Charlus too. He's been my friend as long as he's been yours, don't forget that. Hate me all you want, but can we come to the understanding that Charlus might be in trouble right now. We need to figure out where he is, he might need help."

For a moment, Sirius didn't speak, folding his arms over his chest in defiance. However, he couldn't hold out for very long, thinking about all the horrible things that could have happened to Charlus. He rose to his feet quickly and faced Remus.

"Fine, help me find him, Moony."

Remus nodded, glad to hear his nickname after so long. " Alright, let's think for a moment. We know that Charlus wouldn't be walking around this late, that's not like him. So more than likely, he went somewhere, but where? Who could he visit?"

"I doubt he would see Rita this late," Sirius said, " besides, he was upset. He was probably seeking some form of comfort, but from who? We're all here-"

He paused as the realisation washed over him. Suddenly, his chest felt heavy and he felt the need to sit down for a second. He knew exactly where Charlus had gone when it came to seeking comfort. When Sirius failed in the past to get a smile on his face or if there was a conflict that Charlus couldn't solve, he went to only one person.

Before he could tell Remus, a thudding sound near the fireplace caused both of them to jump. They both made their way over to see one of Maeve's little figurines had fallen off the mantle. Remus bent over and picked it up, holding a little deer between his fingers in the light of the fire.

"Prongs?"

Unexpectedly, as Remus called out the nickname of his old friend, the fire before them seemed to lash out. He and Sirius jumped back to avoid being burnt, only for Sirius to glance at the lantern near the door flicker a green flame before the door opened.

"What is going on?" Remus asked, only to feel his sleeve being tugged as Sirius began to pull him to follow.

"That's Prongs telling us to get our arses moving. Come on!"

As Sirius and Remus found themselves outside the Godric's Hollow cemetery, Sirius realised he had never gotten the chance to see where James and Lily had been buried. He had been arrested before their funerals, and thrown into Azkaban without paying his respects. He could only think of finding both of their lifeless bodies within the destroyed home, along with a crying Harry. Thinking back on it, he should have just taken Harry when he had the chance, instead of trusting his care in Hagrid's hands.

It would have saved him from going after Peter if he had a toddler in his arms, and he would have been there right when Charlus woke up. But it was his own recklessness and short temper that got the best of him. He had gone out to seek vengeance and justice for his friends, only to lose everything so quickly.

"I haven't been here since the funeral," Remus said as they passed through the gate. "It felt so wrong to be here by myself. Of course, others showed up from the community. But not having all of you around...nothing has felt right since then. I'm sorry, Sirius-"

While Sirius had been waiting for a proper apology, it wasn't the best time as he finally spotted Charlus in the distance.

"There! He's right over there!"

Slumped against his parents' tombstone, Charlus appeared to be asleep, using only his robes as a blanket. However, he was definitely suffering from the cold weather as he shivered violently. Remus grabbed his wand to start warming him up, but there seemed to be no point with a chilling wind blowing around them. Using his own body to shield Charlus from the cold, Sirius lifted him up into his arms and turned to Remus.

"We need to get him back to Maeve's place, he's freezing."

When Remus didn't respond right away, Sirius turned, ready to yell at him that they needed to get going only to see Remus' eyes fixated on the tombstone before him. Sirius followed his gaze until he was reading over James' and Lily's name.

"Do you really think it was Prongs who brought us here?" Remus asked him. The two noticed a green spark erupt from the snow, leaving Remus to grab Charlus' wand that had been slightly buried.

"Green for familiar," Sirius whispered. "That was one of the first spells Charlus created. James?"

The wand didn't light up anymore but as they turned to leave, Remus stopped and quickly pointed to the ground. "Sirius, look!"

Looking down, the two could see the fresh prints of deer hooves in the snow, leading back to the gravesite.

Maeve was startled from her sleep when she heard loud movement coming from her living room. Seeing that it was nearing four in the morning, she quickly grabbed her wand and hurried out to see what was taken place in her home. She wouldn't have been too surprised to find the men out of bed, but seeing Charlus being carried inside in Sirius' arms, she immediately became alarmed.

"Oh no! What happened?!"

"Charlus went to the cemetery to visit his family," Remus explained, " he must have fallen asleep. He's freezing. The hot-air charm should do it, right?"

"We can't warm him up too quickly," Maeve instructed them. "We can-"

"I got it," Sirius cut the two of them off.

Grabbing the blanket off the back of Maeve's sofa, Sirius set Charlus down on the floor in front of the fireplace. He wrapped the blanket around the two of them, allowing Charlus to rest against his chest as he remained asleep.

"Oh Charlus," Maeve said, "you're going to be the death of me. You're a wizard and you nearly let yourself freeze to death outside! There's being stubborn and then there is being stupid. All of you quit being stubborn and ask for help! If you need ointment, talk to me. If you can't sleep, talk to me. You have a Healer at your expense, willing to work for free, mind you and none of you take advantage of it! Monitor his breathing and if it feels like he isn't warming up, come wake me up. If he wakes up, make sure he takes his sleeping draught and I highly recommend you do the same. Right now, I'm going back to bed, goodnight!"

Remus and Sirius listened as Maeve stormed off and slammed her bedroom, causing both of them to flinch.

"Merlin, you would think Minnie possessed her there for a moment, " Sirius said, " I thought she was going to give us detention."

Letting out a chuckle, Remus shook his head. "She's right though. We're more than fortunate to have her in our lives, especially right now. I'm going to head to bed myself, do you think you can manage or-"

"I can manage," Sirius said, looking down at Charlus, " we're going to be fine. Thank you, Moony."

"Anytime, Padfoot."

Once the household grew quiet again, Sirius leaned against the footing of the sofa and closed his eyes. His arms wrapped around Charlus, his hands resting on Charlus' chest where he could make sure he was breathing properly. His mind travelled back to the time where he had finally taken the initiative to run away from Grimmauld Place and ended up at the Potters. Travelling through the harsh winter night had left him practically freezing to death and just as he arrived, he collapsed.

And it was Charlus who had taken care of him. That had been the beginning of Sirius nearly losing his mind every time he was around Charlus. At first, James didn't understand it, too oblivious to notice his best friend falling in love with his brother. But in the end, he had given his blessing, hoping the two would have a lifetime of happiness together.

"James, I'm sorry I didn't get to say more to you tonight," Sirius said quietly, " I'm sorry I couldn't save you that night. After everything you and your family have done for me, I've always wanted to figure a way to pay you back or at the very least say thank you. Just saying it isn't enough. But I promise I'm going to take care of Charlus to the best of my abilities. We're going to find Harry and we're going to take care of him too. Make sure he's the happiest boy in the world. And...and I'm going to make things right with Moony. We're going to set things right, the way we should have before everything went to shit."

Of course, there was no response, but there was nothing left to say as Charlus shifted in Sirius' arms to make himself comfortable. His hand held the front of Sirius' shirt with a loose grip as he let out a light snore. Finally, Charlus entered a much needed deep sleep, it seemed James was still able to comfort him in times of need.

A peaceful smile donned on his face as he started to drift off himself with a little pleasant reminder that it was Christmas Eve and he was getting to spend it with Charlus again.

The next morning, Maeve left her bedroom after waking up to check on Charlus' condition. Considering no one had knocked on her door for the rest of the night, she assumed he had been fine for the most part but she wanted to double-check for herself. She felt rather guilty for yelling at the men earlier, even though she had been right for the most part. It wasn't just a Potter thing, they were all quite stubborn in their own way. She hoped her message had gotten through to them.

When she walked out into the living room, to find Sirius and Charlus asleep on the floor. Charlus remained closest to the fireplace, with Sirius behind him, one arm draped over his waist. Bending over, she placed her hand out and brushed Charlus' skin lightly to find that he was very warm, which satisfied the Healer in her. But as she went to walk away, Charlus' hand quickly grabbed her wrist.

Peering back down, Maeve could see that he was wide awake and he let go of her as soon as he had her attention.

"Charlus?"

"I need your help with the final step of the plan. The Ministry is going to be making their move soon and we need to be ready."

"What do you need?"