Disclaimer: I do not own any recognizable characters, just the plot and my little OC.
A/N: I wrote this a while ago for a friend of mine, figured why not post it here? Takes place after Sirius' escape from Azkaban and he returns home to his wife who is also the sister of a Mister Remus Lupin. Er, enjoy, I suppose.
Sirius reverted to human form and pulled the key from the fake rock in the garden and inserted it into the lock. As he turned the key he could hear voices. Not just one of a Muggle news anchor as he expected, but multiple voices. It was then that he decided to replace the key in it's original place and knock on the door.
He knocked and listened as the chatter inside ceased immediately. A female voice questioned who on earth would be calling at this hour and then an almost familiar male voice volunteered to answer the door. This confused Sirius, why would Rory have company over this late? And a man at that? Had she given up on him? Moved on?
Suddenly the door knob twisted under Sirius' hand which he snapped back to his side. As the door opened, Sirius was confronted with a harried face and shabby wizards' robes.
"Remus?" Sirius heard himself whisper shyly, "Moony, is that really you?"
"Padfoot?" Remus whispered back a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. Suddenly, his face snapped into blankness.
"What kind of posters does Sirius Black have on his bedroom walls at his parents' house?"
"Muggle posters," Sirius practically asked, "of girls in bikinis on motorcycles. What the hell was that, mate?"
"Imperius check, you can never be too careful. What are you doing here?"
"Well, I'm looking to shag your sister for the first time in twelve years, if you don't mind, Moony" Sirius laughed.
"I.. well.. Well, I mean that's to be expected but what I really mean is, how'd you do it?"
"Is that really important? I lost weight, skirted through the bars as Padfoot and swam to land. Now, where's my wife?"
"You really managed that? Wow, Pads. She's inside, c'mon, I'll announce you." Remus smiled and winked at Sirius whose inner, or really outer, marauder came alive again. The two men walked down the corridor to a sitting room. Sirius flattened himself against the wall next to the door way and Remus slumped against the frame.
"Who was at the door, Remy?" There it was. The chocolatey voice that had pulled Sirius from the nightmare that was Azkaban prison
"Oh, no one. Just a madman escaped from prison." Sirius grinned at this. It was as though nothing had changed between them.
"What? What do you mean, Remus?" This voice was new, unfamiliar and panicked, definitely a female's though.
"Nothing, dear. Rory, I think you should come meet this man though." Out of the corner of his eye, Sirius could see Remus smirking and then he heard her laugh, the most beautiful sound Sirius could remember from the "Old Days" as he'd become accustomed to calling them. He listened to her footsteps, slow and thoughtful as though she was afraid to move too quickly for fear of this being a dream.
Sirius's pulse quickened as he was overcome with doubts when suddenly she entered the hall. He felt his jaw drop as he saw her for the first time in a long time. She was wearing a simple white blouse with a bow at the collar, a high waisted purple skirt and sheer stockings. She wasn't wearing shoes which didn't surprise Sirius because he distinctly remembered her hating them. Her dirty blonde was tied back in a loose pony tail, except for her swooped bangs that were a trademark of hers. Her brown eyes were closed softly as she inhaled deeply. As she opened her eyes Sirius met them with his grey ones and a smirk.
It was her turn to drop her jaw and drink in the sight before her. Remus murmured something about leaving them to it then and he disappeared into the sitting room.
"S-S-Sirius?" she asked, her voice quivering and tears filling her eyes. A slight frown came upon his face.
"What? Aren't you happy to see me?"
"I-I.. It's just.. Oh, Sirius." And with that she flung herself into his arms and kissed him with more passion than ever.
When they pulled apart Sirius smiled and said, "I was really scared for a minute there, you know." Rory choked a laugh through her tears and tried to respond but couldn't so she settled for burying her face in the crook of his neck. "Don't cry, love." Sirius murmured into her hair.
Rory inhaled hoping that Sirius would smell like the blue-grey scent of an approaching rainstorm she remembered only to be presented with a mixture of dank and musty with wet dog.
"Sirius, you reek." She giggled. "Come with me." She grabbed his wrist and dragged him up the stairs into their bedroom and sat him on the bed. Rory walked into the adjoining bath and started some water.
"What are you doing, love? You know we're just going to get dirty again." he asked with a laugh. The water stopped.
"Are you getting in with me or what?"
Oh!, thought Sirius. He walked into the bathroom and noticed first a pile of discarded clothing and he followed suit as he walked closer to the tub.
"Oh, I thought you might want this back, by the way." She held his wand out to him with a smirk.
"What? How'd you get this? I thought they'd snapped it!"
"Pulled a few strings. You know, threw a few jinxes, modified a few memories. No big thing."
"This is a great night," Sirius thought out loud.
"And it's about to get better," Rory added with a seductive laugh.
Sirius woke as the sun filtered through the blinds and pierced his eyelids. He rolled over groggily and opened his eyes. He looked around noting the grey-schemed room. Confusion muddle Sirius' mind and he sat up, horror stricken, trying desperately to figure out where he was. Suddenly, there was something cool touching his shirtless back. Sirius whipped around and was met with the very concerned face of his wife.
"Sirius?" she questioned timidly. He noticed both of them were naked and the memories from the night before came flooding back. He was free and this wasn't a dream. Sirius' tensed muscles relaxed and he slumped back against his pillows with a small smile on his face.
"G'morning," he mumbled and then leaned down to kiss her head.
"Are you alright?" Rory responded, concern still clouding her face.
Sirius blushed slightly and nodded, "I just forgot where I was."
"Hungry?" she asked with a small smile, disregarding his mistake. She sat up and moved to the edge of the bed. Sirius lunged at her and pulled her back against him.
"Yes," he replied to her question, "But can't we lay here for a bit, love?"
Rory smiled at her old petname and cuddled closer to her husband. He wrapped his arms around her and placed his chin on her head. The two lay there, not a care in the world. The doorbell rang after a while and both groaned in unison.
"NOT IT!" Sirius yelled quickly placing his finger on his nose and smiling evilly at his wife. Rory rolled her eyes and got out of bed to get dressed.
"I would have gone either way. It's probably not a good idea to have an escaped convict answering the door." She smiled at the mental picture of a shocked witch or wizard at the door. Once dressed in simple wizard's robes, Rory made her way downstairs to open the door. To her surprise, standing on the threshold was a very posh looking man. He was clothed in expensive looking wizard's robes and he wore a monocle.
"I'm looking for a Ms. Rory J. Lupin." The man said in a steely voice.
"Yes, that's me. May I help you?"
"I'm Matthew DeBenetti from the Department of Criminal Justice at the Ministry of Magic. I'm doing a neighborhood search for the well-known escaped prisoner, Sirius Black. I'm going to have to ask you a few questions."
"Oh, yes sir. Won't you come in? I could brew up some tea if you'd like." She suggested cordially, stepping aside so he could enter the house and then leading him to the kitchen.
"That'd be delightful. Now, Ms. Lupin, do you live here alone?"
"Yes sir. That is if you don't count my dog, Padfoot." Rory replied cheerfully, and loud enough so Sirius could hear her. She offered a seat to the ministry official and summoned two cups of hot tea, sugar and cream with her wand.
"Well, no. We would not count a dog as a living companion." the man replied stiffly, removing the hint of casualty from the air. "I'll need to have a look around your house, Ms. Lupin, is that alright?"
Panic flooded her body, but her face remained calm as she spoke, "Of course, Mr. DeBenetti. Take as long as you like." She stood up to follow him in his search.
"No, no, no. Protocol, Ms. Lupin. You'll have to wait here."
Rory huffed as she sat back down and waited helplessly for the official to complete his search. She could only hope that Sirius had heard her earlier.
"Well, it seems that everything checks out all right, Ms. Lupin." said Matthew DeBenetti as he walked down the stairs after his inspection.
"Thank you, sir. I'm glad you stopped by. Good luck with your search." Rory answered with the sweetest smile she could muster and ushered him out the door. Once she was sure he was gone, Rory exhaled loudly and slumped down the door, her eyes closed. Since the coast was clear, Sirius sidled down the stairs and sat next to his wife. Rory opened her eyes as she felt Sirius' warmth beside her.
"What's eating you, Mr. Grape?" she asked casually as she noted the frown creased into his forehead.
"Ms. Lupin? What happened to being Mrs. Black?" he asked, rejection flooding his voice.
"Oh, Sirius. I only changed it because I knew it'd look suspicious if you escaped. Take today for example. Had he been looking for a Mrs. Rory L. Black, interrogation would have been more intense and chances of you being found higher. It's nothing personal, love. You know I'm proud to take your name."
Sirius did not meet her gaze. Rather, he sat and brooded on the thought.
"Come now, Sirius. Don't be upset. Let me make you breakfast." she stood and walked back into the kitchen and began to prepare bacon, eggs, pancakes, everything Sirius loved. Still slightly wounded, Sirius stood as well and followed his wife to the kitchen. He sat at his usual place at the table and inhaled the scents of delicious cooking. This would be Sirius' first real meal in twelve years and, Merlin, was he excited.