Falcons- CHASER 3: Write about a fight within the family (such as over marriage, finance, property, etc.)

3. (object) blanket

10. (song) 'Neighbours' - Neighbours theme song.

14. (dialogue) "Sure, let's all get matching tattoos and we can dance the polka."

Nobody warned me that it was going to be so bad, thought Luna as she looked around her apartment. She and Remus had cast Reparo charms on the broken windows and furniture while their husbands went to St. Mungo's. The Black brothers, while capable of so much love and forgiveness, never seemed able to love and forgive each other. Who would have thought a family game night needed to come with a warning?

"Luna, darling, please sit. You need to get off those feet and I have no trouble picking up the mess made by my ever hot headed man-child. I cannot believe what Sirius did." Remus walked over to where Luna had stopped, staring out the windows.

The apartment was large and airy, it felt cold and empty now. When Remus placed his hands gently on her shoulders, her eyes swung up to meet his.

"I wish they hadn't done this, Remus," she stated to the older wizard. "Is that how all brothers are? I never had one, but if I did I would hope I wouldn't have to worry so much about being cursed by him for not liking the polka." Smoothing her hands idly around her protruding belly, her wide eyes looked to Remus for an answer.

"Welcome, welcome," Luna's soft smile lit up the small entryway in the otherwise spacious apartment she shared with Regulus. Offering a warm hug to Remus and another to her brother-in-law Sirius, she welcomed the couple to the inaugural Black Family Game Night.

"Mmmmmmm, what do we have here, Remus? Do I smell your infamous Triple Chocolate Cookies?" Lifting the lid on the box handed over to her, she deeply inhaled, "Yup, sure is. Oh! Yummy! My favorite; I'll be sure to ask Reg to grab some—"

"Already way ahead of you, blondie," Sirius presented her with a bottle of the Muggle soda she had been pairing with her sweets ever since she found out she was pregnant six months ago. Taking the bottle in her other hand she smelled, rather than heard, her husband walk into the entryway. Her second to least favorite side-effect of this pregnancy was her proclivity to smells.

"Sirius, stop trying to woo my wife!" Regulus snuggled up behind Luna in the cramped space and wrapped one arm around the smallest part of her abdomen, right under her bust. His other hand rubbed lazy circles over the swell of belly covered by the soft angora sweater she was wearing.

Pulling away, she led the group through the apartment and out french doors onto the balcony overlooking the Thames. From their perch high above the streets of the city they could see the lights in the buildings, and reflected on the river below. A warming charm kept the cool nip of September air at bay.

"They're brothers. Black brothers at that." Not that it was an excuse either of the only children truly understood, but both accepted it. Pulling her away from the windows and over to the overstuffed couch in the sunken living room, Remus forced the reluctant witch to get off her swollen feet. He settled her next to a large pile of pillows that she promptly laid her head down on. After throwing the soft blanket over her legs and bare feet, he sat down at the other end of the couch.

"I know Reg should not have reacted that way, but I wish Sirius wouldn't—" Luna was stopped mid-rant when his expert fingers grabbed onto her aching feet and began pressing circles from the middle of her instep out to her toes. Her eyes closed, and seemed to be relaxed for the first time since matching tattoos were brought up. She was grateful he stopped her from continuing. It undoubtedly would have ended in yet another stint of crying; her least favorite side effect of pregnancy.

"Remus. How do you know exactly what I need? Are you sure you were never pregnant?" Both witch and wizard were smiling at that. No, he most certainly was not ever pregnant. Any discussion of little Lupin-Black children usually started a fight that ended with both wizards panting in a pile of clothes realizing they only needed each other. If children were in the cards, they would gladly take on the role of father, but it wasn't anything the middle-aged wizards were chomping at the bit to partake in.

"Ah, Luna, darling, you know I am destined to be the world's most amazing uncle."

"I'm so glad Reg and I found this place right next door to you and Sirius. I never would have gotten to know you like this if we hadn't. Who knows when we would see you both, considering what a bunch of bickering children they turn into."

"What do you get when you take two Blacks, and add a few too many shots of Firewhiskey?" Remus scoffed at that, agreeing with Luna that they really do have a tendency to revert back to childish ways with a little lubrication. "Hopefully the pair of wizards we fell in love with will finally move on from their dark past before they miss out on too much."

An intricately woven canopy of wisteria and jasmine hung over the table in the middle of the balcony. A firefly charm, Lampyridae, had hundreds of small dots of light flitting around the draping flowers. The large table was set with trays of hors d'oeuvres, dishes of assorted nuts, candies, and popcorn—another of Luna's favorites—were set around the table.

"Alright, I think we have something for everyone here, except the migrating Nargles that began arriving earlier this month. They took up residence in the pergola, but I am keeping them contained by the Lampyridae spell. They are afraid of the lights, you see?" Luna directed their attention to the spot over the table that was lit up by her faux bioluminescent insects.

Before the wizards could scoff at his wife, Regulus led them to the small bar set up along the railing. "Help yourself to a drink and some snacks, because in a moment I am going to blow the whistle on family game night."

The lone witch took a seat in a butterfly style chair that made her feel like she was being suspended in mid-air. Which was lovely, considering she was feeling as big as an Erumpent at the moment. Covering her legs with one of the blankets she had thrown over the back of each chair, she snuggled in while the wizards set themselves up with drinks.

"Luna, my love, what are we playing tonight?" He placed a chaste kiss on her upturned lips before setting a plate with a few of Remus's cookies and some soda in front of her.

"It's a fun game. And not to worry," she said and looked over at the three wizards who were making their way to their seats, drinks in hand and ready for the night to begin, "I have charmed the cards to not allow cheating. If anyone attempts to use magic on them, the word 'louse' will appear on the back."

Luna never would have asked him to stay, but Remus did not feel comfortable leaving the pregnant witch alone after the excitement earlier in the evening. Her mind quieted after his blissful foot rub and she burrowed into the pillows around her, making a nest to support her neck, back, and belly. She flicked her wand towards the corner of the room and a turntable spun to life before strings of Rachmaninov slowly filled the room.

The blanket she had wrapped around her was not enough to keep the chill at bay, so when she fell asleep on the couch, it was with her feet snuggled into Remus's lap.

A flash of green lit up the room momentarily—right before the two Black men arrived on the hearth looking worse for wear. Remus smiled when he noticed the older Black brushing soot from his younger brothers shoulders.

Regulus had one arm completely immobilized and strapped to his chest, the other hand was occupied by holding a cane. Sirius, though he had full use of his hands and feet, was limping and had a patch covering one eye as he made his way over to the couch.

"She's asleep? I was hoping she would have still been awake so I could apologize to her, again. It doesn't look too bad in here. How is she?" Sirius asked his partner. His visible eye shifting around the room, knowing once it landed on Remus he would see nothing but disappointment reflecting back at him.

"Well, it was bad in here. All of the windows needed to be repaired, there are scorch marks on the floor that will never be removed, and the drapery around the back window will have to be replaced," looking over at Regulus as he walked into view Remus continued, "you won't need to worry about the Nargles this year. I'm pretty sure when the pergola came down, the Nargles went down with it."

The brothers looked at each other, then to the blonde witch sleeping on the couch. They both turned to Remus, who did not disappoint with the absolutely dejected expression. It was Regulus that spoke up, owning up to this man who had not only spent most of his life loving Sirius, he also was someone who was always there for him and his wife as well.

"I'm so sorry, Remus. When we were waiting for the Mediwitches to see us, Sirius and I did some actual talking." Regulus looked over to his brother for support, and the Gryffindor tried to pass a bit of courage to his brother by squeezing his shoulder and encouraging him to continue.

"I don't want this new baby to come into a world full of strife, and uncertainty. I want him to know that he has family, right down the corridor, that will always be there to support and love him." Regulus looked over to his older brother and offered a smile.

"Yes, and I need to teach my nephew how to be an amazing older brother. Luna was right, that display tonight, that isn't anything I would have wanted my nephew to see. Much less something to emulate." Sirius looked, actually, contrite. Grabbing Remus's hand, he hauled the werewolf off the couch.

"Hey, you can't leave yet. Since you broke this arm, you're going to have to carry her to bed. I can't with my bones regrowing, and I will most definitely not wake her up so she has to walk there." Regulus leaned over his witch and she opened her eyes for a moment after catching a hint of his cologne.

Sirius lifted her as though she weighed nothing and carried her to the bed. Making sure her feet were tucked under the blanket before he shut the door. Walking back to the living room, Sirius heard Regulus and Remus talking in low whispers. It had been a long night and everyone longed to be in their own bed.

"See you tomorrow to fix the balcony?" Regulus asked his brother as the two older wizards left to go down the hall to their own apartment.

"Bright and early. With treats." The brothers shook hands as Remus nudged his partner out the door.

"We will see you tomorrow, Regulus. Now, go back inside and make sure to take care of that woman. You don't have long until it's not going to be just the two of you any longer."

"Gin!" Sirius yelled as he threw down a jack of spades on top of the last trick of the hand.

"It's 'euchre,' not Gin, and that wasn't a euchre—Remus called clubs!" Regulus yelled at his older brother. They had been over the rules so many times at this point he was considering throwing the next few hands so they could just call it a night. As it was, Luna looked to be fading fast. The last hand they played he had to nudge her foot under the table to remind her when it was her turn more than once.

"Oh, he called clubs, did he? I don't remember anything about clubs. Didn't you deal?" his voice raised as he got up to pour himself another Firewhiskey. Sirius grabbed the bottle from the sideboard and brought it back to the table, slamming it down with a loud thud.

"Yes, he called clubs, Sirius. That is what he meant when he said clubs. What, did you think—he was trying to start a club in the middle of our card game?" Regulus was standing as well at this point. His hands were grasping the edge of the table, as if trying to hold himself back.

"I thought maybe he was. I mean geez," Sirius looked down at his black fingernails, then back up to stare into matching silver eyes. "Sure, let's all get matching tattoos and we can dance the polka." Sirius was feeling no pain, but didn't miss the look his brother shot at him after the mention of matching tattoos.

"What did you say, Sirius?"

"Was it the matching tattoo's, or was it the polka, that you didn't understand?" Sirius' eyes glinted with mischief and something else that couldn't be discerned. "I guess it must be the polka. You have first hand knowledge of matching tattoos."

The witch was dozing in her chair, but thankfully Remus was on high alert as soon as the two brothers had risen from their seats next to each other at the sturdy outdoor table. Each Black had his eyes fixed on the other.

Remus stood quickly and moved around the table to rently rouse Luna. The air on the patio was crackling with pent up magic, and Remus shook his head as he watched both wizards draw their wands.

"What are you both doing? This is a family night. We are supposed to be here celebrating the equinox, you know. When things are even, level. This is anything but." Remus glared at the two wizards on either end of the table. Luna was sitting at attention, and as she looked from her husband, to his brother, she noted how the fireflies were speeding around the table in a blur.

"We should go inside, Remus," the witch looked to him with solemn eyes. "I'm fairly certain this is not going to end well for the Nargles. You see my fireflies, alight with frenzy? They can tell."

Luna stood up and taking the scared hand of her friend and neighbor, walked into the apartment. Almost as an afterthought, Remus placed a protective spell around the balcony. He was afraid, not only of what they will do to the other, but also how recklessly they were behaving. There was no need for innocent bystanders to be caught in the fray.

The fight lasted no more than five minutes. The spells that were cast by the two master duelers were deflected one after the other in quick succession. Remus and Luna stood watching from the living room; he would have gladly interfered, but could not leave a pregnant witch's side during a duel like this. There was no telling where a stray curse would land.

Luckily he stayed by her. As the jets of light were thrown from each wizard's wand, they eventually pushed so hard against the barrier that the windows began to crack. It was shortly after the glass in the door broke, that a red streak of light made it into the apartment and scorched mark three feet long on the floor in front of the pair. Stopping only when Remus threw an extra strong Protego.

It had come through Luna's wards as well, and when she wrapped both arms around her midsection, as though protecting her unborn child from this display of anger that Remus decided he had had it up to his eyeballs with the two brothers.

"Enough!" Remus bellowed. Both wizards on the balcony halted mid-curse and their heads swiveled to the werewolf in the doorway. His eyes flashed gold, and his hands were shaking from holding back so much anger.

"What is wrong with the pair of you? Do you know what you are doing? Luna is in there, protecting her unborn child from his father, and uncle. Don't you see how messed up that is?" As the words came out, the shaking subsided. Glaring back and forth, from one brother to the other he shook his head.

"I would have given anything to have a brother growing up. Hell, you thought you had lost him to the Death Eaters, until he showed up broken on your doorstep. The year you were holed up in Grimaldi Place, with only each other's company." Remus looked Sirius in the eye, the one that wasn't swollen completely shut. "I remember what you told me. How him being there saved you from completely losing your mind."

Remus swung his gaze over to the other Black. "And you, don't think you are getting out of this just because I don't sleep with you. Because I also remember you coming to me after you heard what happened in the Department of Mysteries the first time. How you begged me to find a way to send you back to save your brother. Stopping at nothing, not even the broken time-turners could stop you."

Taking in the way Regulus was holding his non-wand arm to his chest and the way he sagged against the table, Remus could tell he was not in good shape.

"And all that, for what? So you could kill each other on the balcony during family game night? While your wife and husband stand inside the apartment hoping nothing is unfixable."

Remus shook his head and moved away from the door. The two Blacks followed him in. Sirius was dripping blood from multiple cuts on his face and hands, Regulus was limping slowly, his broken arm clutched to his chest.

"Go to St. Mungo's, I'll clean up your mess. It's what I always do"

A/N

Hogwarts- Challenges and Assignments
Charms: Dark Charms
Task #9: Confringo: Write about someone hot headed

Pirate - Fortnight Challenge
Ship: Dying Gull: RegulusLuna
Crew: James Norrington: (dialogue) "What are you doing?" / "Choosing a side."

HARD PINATA
* WORD COUNT REQUIRED *
Slash - (all fics must feature a Slash pairing)

Writing Club:

Character Appreciation: 19. [Setting] Apartment
Disney- C#3 Bagheera - alt/ Write about someone who is just done with those around him.