A/N: Hey y'all! This was written for Hogwarts and the QLFC. Prompts are below. :)

Advanced Warding Task 2: Write about an unwelcome visitor

Quidditch League:

Chaser 2: Write about a canonly clever character being outwitted

Optional Prompts:

(color) cream

(dialogue) "The only thing tougher than farmers are farmers' mums."

(word) coincidence

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Those rights go to JK Rowling.

Word Count: 3022 (within extended word count)

Note: This is a muggle/farm!au. And, since I know almost nothing about how farms work… I'm taking creative license.

A million thanks to Bex and Angel for helping me with this! You're the best. :)

Enjoy!

Sirius wasn't pleased to hear that someone bought the farm a mile down the road. This was his turf; they had no business coming in and trying to steal his customers. Still, he kept his mouth shut, hoping that whoever it was wouldn't be able to get the property under control before market week—it was overgrown, no one had tended to it in years. Maybe the soil wouldn't be any good anymore, and they'd leave.

It was a futile hope; he clung to it nonetheless.

Sirius felt a tongue against his palm and turned away from the horse he was grooming to see Padfoot, his dog, looking up at him adoringly.

Sirius smiled and scratched him under the chin. "Don't worry," he murmured. "I won't let us be run out of business."

Padfoot barked happily.

"Talking to your dog again, Sirius?"

Sirius looked up to see James enter the stable, his hand clutching the fingers of a bouncing Harry. "Well, it's better than talking to you."

"Oi!" James said, indignant. "I take offense to that. To think I was going to help you out today."

Sirius rolled his grey eyes. "Right. The last time you 'helped out' you gathered the hen eggs and then sat around for the rest of the day."

James shrugged. "You didn't have to do it, anyway."

Sirius scoffed and put down the brush in his hand. "Have you heard the news? Someone bought the farm down the road."

James brightened. "Oh, yeah! Lily's over there now, welcoming them to the neighborhood. Bloke named Lupin, and his parents," he clarified.

Sirius glared at him. "This isn't good news, James!"

James frowned. "Why not?"

"Lupin could run me out of business—"

"Oh, please." James rolled his eyes. "This doesn't have to be a competition, you know. And you're doing fine on your own."

Sirius huffed. "Traitor."

"Come on, Harry. Uncle Sirius is being dramatic again—"

"I am not!"

"—so let's go eat his food and ignore him."

Sirius scowled at him as he left with the giggling six-year-old, then got back to work. Maybe James was right—there was a very high demand that he couldn't always meet, and having someone else might be better for the community. Despite this logic, Sirius couldn't put his pride aside. Maybe it was a side effect from his childhood, but he always wanted to be enough for the people he cared about.

So he convinced himself that he didn't need the Lupins. He was perfectly fine.

He first met Lupin at market.

Sirius might have been able to hate him completely if it weren't for his eyes. A dark amber in color, they were both expressive and mysterious, which only intrigued Sirius. Still, he'd made up his mind to despise the man in front of him—no matter how captivating he was.

Lupin smiled at him from across the market and made his way through the crowds to where Sirius was setting up his stall. Long, scarred fingers reached out to Sirius, who was holding a few bottles of goat's milk in his hands.

"Remus Lupin. I take it you're Sirius Black?"

Sirius narrowed his eyes slightly, suspicious. "Yes," he said carefully as he set the bottles down. He shook Remus' hand with barely concealed reluctance. "How'd you know that?"

Remus' eyes sparkled. "Lily Potter clued me in," he explained. "You own the other lot, right?"

Sirius nodded. "Yes, I do. Listen, Lupin, I've got to get to work."

An embarrassed flush spread over Remus' freckled face, and Sirius almost felt guilty for his rudeness. Before he could do anything, Remus nodded and backed away, murmuring something about having to get ready himself.

Sirius felt a bit bad. Lupin had only been friendly so far. But he reminded himself that he had to prove himself capable of taking care of the town on his own. So when he packed up for the day, he didn't spare Lupin another glance.

It hadn't escaped his notice, that the newcomer had attracted quite a lot of customers already.

Sirius sped away on his motorbike, feeling rotten. Sales had decreased, but not significantly enough to worry him. It was the thought of being replaced that had him in such a sour mood.

Of course, Lily picked up on it the moment he walked through the door. He had employees who helped him with the animals and the fields, but Lily liked to pop in and make sure he was taking care of himself. To be perfectly honest, Sirius would be much worse off if it wasn't for her.

Lily fixed her green-eyed glare on him. "Okay, Black, spill. What's wrong?"

Sirius shrugged and sat down at the kitchen table. He knew Lily wouldn't be impressed if he told her the truth, but she was as close as a sister to him—she'd be able to sniff out his lies.

"I… met Lupin," he said slowly.

Lily put her hands on her hips. "And?"

Sirius huffed. "Well, he seems nice enough, but this is my turf, Lily! It's my job to feed these people—"

"You do realize they don't only buy from you, right?"

"—they depend on me—"

"They like the fresh produce."

"—and I don't need any help from some newbie with tan skin and freckles."

Lily snorted. She pulled her red hair away from her face and sat down beside Sirius. "This town is big enough for the both of you," she murmured, gentle but stern. "Everyone here likes the fresh produce, but you don't always have enough left over to sell here from your sales to the markets in the bigger cities. Remus can help with that. The both of you are just trying to make a living."

"I can do this on my own," he insisted, but he knew Lily was right.

She raised a brow at him. "Don't let your pride put a wedge in a potential friendship." She stood up and wiped her hands on her jeans. "I made you lunch, which you better eat. If you have time this afternoon, come over to mine."

Sirius nodded. "I will."

Lily left, rose pink blouse bouncing as she rode away on her bike. Sirius watched her go, sighing to himself. It was time to get to work.

Over the next few months, Sirius did his best to push Remus out of his mind. The two men had gotten rather competitive when it came to sales, which Lily and James did not approve of. Sirius didn't care, though. They didn't understand how much this job meant to him—how much belonging in this town did.

Lupin had that look about him—the look that said he could belong anywhere he wanted, because he was just that sort of person. Sirius didn't have that. It surprised him to be welcomed. He needed to prove that it was he who should be there.

But then, a year after the Lupins came to town, the sky darkened from a pale blue to a seafoam green, then to a dark grey. Storm clouds rolled in, completely unexpected. Sirius' eyes widened as the rain came down and the wind picked up, rushing to get all the animals to safety. His employees had gone home for the evening, so he curled up in the basement alone with Padfoot as his entire livelihood was ripped apart above him.

When Remus saw the damage the storm had done, he wanted to throw the proverbial towel in and just scream. Of course, that wasn't something he could do. So he made a plan to pick up the pieces, because this was his living and he couldn't just sit there and wallow.

The cleanup was going fairly well, until his mother called him in to answer a phone call.

"—so, you see," Riddle finished, "it really is in your best interest to sell, Mr. Lupin. It's valuable land that I can put to good use—you could never tap into its full potential."

Remus grit his teeth. That oily, confident voice was rubbing salt into wounds that hadn't fully healed yet. But Remus had come a long way from the under confident young man who doubted his ability to make his way into the world.

"This is my life, Mr. Riddle," he said, careful to keep his voice polite. "I can't just sell my property after one disaster."

"I would, of course, pay you enough to keep you afloat until you were settled somewhere else," he continued. "If you feel that you can properly provide for your family while you try to fix what happened… by all means, reject my offer. I am not forcing you into anything, Mr. Lupin. That is not my intention."

Then why, Remus wondered, was that exactly what it felt like?

His eyes wandered over to where his parents sat in the living room. They were getting on in years and depended on him. Could he provide for them and keep the land?

He bit his lip. Riddle had mentioned that he was going to make Black the same offer. Maybe the other man would have some ideas.

The next morning, Sirius stared at the wreckage in horror. Crops had been ripped from the ground and thrown about, the gates holding some of the livestock had broken, the animals missing, and bits of fence were scattered across the fields. Some of the machinery was partially destroyed.

Sirius put his head in his hands. This wasn't good. He didn't have enough money to fix this.

"You were hit hard, too, I see."

Sirius whipped around to see Remus Lupin, looking exhausted. The morning sun was behind him, casting a hazy golden glow around his figure. That, combined with the cream shirt he was wearing, made him look like an angel.

But he wasn't one.

"What are you doing here?" Sirius growled, still reeling from the extent of the damage. "Get out!"

Remus dragged a scarred hand through his hair. "I didn't come to fight, Black. I came to… ask what you were planning to do."

Sirius knelt down in the mud and began gathering scraps of metal that had flown off his equipment. "About what?" he asked tiredly, the fight draining out of him—which was unusual during a confrontation with Lupin.

Remus looked surprised. "You haven't heard?" He sighed heavily. "Tom Riddle—he's big money—wants to buy from both of us. He knows we can't bring anything in this season, and that we can't afford to fix everything in time to start planting again. I… I wanted to see if you had any ideas on how to stay."

Sirius felt sick. "If we kept our land, we'd have to let everyone go… But we couldn't get everything ready ourselves…"

Remus nodded, running his hands through his tawny hair. "Exactly. It'd be a very tight few years."

Sirius slammed his fist on the ground. "I've spent years building this place up—I can't believe it could all be undone in one night."

Remus stuck his hands in his pockets. "I can't believe it, either. This place was finally starting to feel like…" He trailed off, but it wasn't hard to guess what he'd been about to say. Sirius felt guilt flash through him; their year of rivalry seem suddenly foolish and wasted.

"What are you going to do?" he asked Remus.

The other man shrugged. "I'm not sure. I don't know if I could stay afloat without the financial support."

Sirius remembered suddenly that Lupin was living with his parents, and couldn't ration as easily as he could. And, in that moment, Lupin was an ally. Sirius knew how influential and corrupt people with old money really were, and he had no intention of being kicked out of his home by them again.

He remembered the days immediately after his disownment. He'd felt so lost when he realized that there was very little he actually knew how to do. But James' parents had taken him in, taught him their trade—with that knowledge, Sirius had made his living on this plot of land.

James had gone on to pursue a career in sports, where he'd met Lily, a nurse. They had Harry five years after their first meeting. The three of them visited Sirius often—there were so many memories here. Harry had practically grown up here; he wouldn't give up without a fight.

He stood up angrily. "I'm not losing this place," he swore. "I've worked too hard to get here."

Remus looked at him hopefully. "Do you have a plan?"

Sirius wilted slightly. "Well… no. But I'll come up with something."

Some of the light had died from his amber eyes as Remus said, "Ah. Let me know if you come up with anything, then."

Sirius blinked. "You… want me to?"

Lupin snorted. "I'd say we're both in trouble, mate. I know it isn't easy, but at least we should try to get along together." He grinned at Sirius. "And that includes you, your majesty."

Sirius laughed. "Fair enough. I'll… see you around, Lupin."

Remus' eyes softened. "See you."

He left then, brown boots leaving deep prints in the mud. Sirius scratched his jaw as he watched Lupin walk away. He had a lot of thinking to do.

Riddle's offer would only be open for the week. It was a large sum, large enough to allow Sirius to buy a new lot of land somewhere and live comfortably for a year while he got the fields ready, but he was determined not to lose.

Riddle thought he had them backed into a corner. Two men who could barely stand each other, whose farms had been destroyed, and who weren't financially able to fix things themselves were very easy targets.

Which was why, two days before their deadline, Sirius found himself on the Lupins' doorstep with James at his side and a half-baked plan in his brain.

"Be extra polite if Hope answers the door," James said helpfully. "The only thing tougher than farmers are farmers' mums. And you were rude to her son—she'll be really furious with you."

Sirius looked at him in exasperation. "You're not helping making me any less nervous." He picked at the hem of his jacket. "I just hope this works."

James' face lost all its humor. "We'll do whatever we can to help, mate," he promised.

Sirius was about to respond, but then the door swung open. A short woman stood there, brow raised. She had the same amber eyes as Remus, so there was no doubt in Sirius' mind as to who this was.

"Mrs. Lupin! It's nice to meet you," he said with enough fake confidence to hide his nerves.

"You must be Sirius! What a coincidence—Lyall and I were just talking about you. Did you need something?"

Sirius glanced at James "I'd like to see your son, if that's all right."

Hope Lupin smiled, but there was a warning behind it. "Of course. He's in the fields. You can go around the back to see him."

He thanked her and hurried down the steps, but stopped when she called him back.

"You two play nice," she told him sternly, her hard eyes a sharp contrast of the warm carnation pink of her shirt. "This may be Remus' home, but I'm the one you'll be messing with if you insult anyone here."

She didn't look impressed by him in the least; Sirius quickly assured her that he'd be on his best behavior. Then he hurried to find Remus, James cackling behind him.

Remus was fiddling with a piece of broken equipment when Sirius found him, and scowled at it before tossing it aside in agitation.

Sirius smirked. "You had a row with a machine?"

Remus looked up, surprised, then smiled weakly. "Sort of. It sat there and I shouted abuse. What brings you here, Sirius?"

Sirius ran a hand through his hair. He heard James disappear back to the front of the house, probably to engage Remus' parents in conversation to give them a moment to themselves.

"Riddle thinks he can drive us out because we can't save our farms on our own," he said carefully. "But if we were to work together… If we became partners and focused each piece of land for either livestock or agriculture, we'd reduce the amount of repairs needed. We'd double our individual sales, as well, and we wouldn't need Riddle's money."

Remus stared at him for a moment, expression unreadable. After a moment, he spoke. "That's… that's brilliant. You're sure you want to do this?"

Sirius grinned. "With the proper training, I could have been an evil genius," he teased. "And yes, I want to do this. I… want to apologize for before. I'm not great at allowing new people into my life, and I was afraid you might take my place here. But you're a good person, Lupin, and we need to do this."

Remus stood up and stretched out his hand. "Let's start over then. And call me Remus, partner."

"Call me Sirius."

A week later, both men surveyed the destroyed farms warily. Remus was back in that cream shirt and looking more like an angel than ever. He really was one, too. Thanks to him, repairs were going faster than Sirius imagined.

"It's so… bright," Sirius complained. "Maybe we should do this later."

Remus pushed up the sleeves of his shirt, determined. "No, we can do this. Come on, let's get to work. Anything can be fun if you set your mind to it."

Sirius tried to focus on cleaning up—really—but his eyes kept drifting back to Remus.

"You've really saved me this week," he said suddenly.

Remus glanced at him, startled out of his thoughts. "You saved the both of us."

"I was a right prick," Sirius admitted.

Remus rolled his eyes fondly. "You were. But you can tell me why later, once we know each other better."

Sirius caught Remus wrist. "Why did you give me this chance?" he asked, genuinely curious. "I don't deserve it."

Remus put a hand on his shoulder. "Disasters can bring even the worst of rivals together. And besides, everyone deserves a second chance. And… I'm glad that we got this one."

Sirius smiled. "Me too."

A/N:

Writing Club:

Disney Challenge: Dialogue 3. "I know it isn't easy, but at least we should try to get along together. And that includes you, your majesty."

Showtime: 15. Who Will Buy? — (food) milk

Amber's Attic: 17. "With the proper training, I could have been an evil genius." (5 bonus points)

Angel's Arcade: 7. Sakura — (dialogue) "Anything can be fun if you set your mind to it.", (emotion) intensely focused, (plot point) losing concentration, (color) rose pink

Lo's Lowdown: Dialogue 6. "You had a row with a machine?" / "Sort of. It sat there and I shouted abuse."

Bex's Basement: Natasha Maximoff — 2. (trait) suspicious

Film Festival: 12. (item) bike

Seasonal Challenge:

Days of the Year: 30 May — Write about someone trying to look after something

Spring: 2. (word) bright

Colors: 10. Carnation pink

Birthstones: 1. Diamond — "It's so… bright."

Flowers: 10. Allium — (object) bottle

Earth: 11. (word) soil

Amanda's Challenge: Characters 3. Daryl Dixon — include a motorbike in your fic

Hufflepuff Challenge: Traits 2. Hardworking

Star Chart: 5. April 2nd — (animal) dog

Fortnightly Challenge:

Space Stuff: 3. First time space shuttle — write about enemies coming together to accomplish something great

Chinese Zodiac: 11. Dog — (color) dark grey, (character) Sirius Black, (weather) stormy

Constellation Club: Lynx: 12 Lyncis — (trait) optimistic

Auction: Seafoam

Easter Funfair: Guess the Name - Marcus - "What are you doing here? Get out!"

Insane House Challenge; 379. (au) farm

365 Words: 7. Confrontation

Scavenger Hunt: 77. Write an AU you've never written before