Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, that world and all its characters belongs solely to J.K Rowling.

Charles stared at his son in disbelief, before turning his gaze onto the other two boys that were currently occupying his kitchen. Remus met his gaze evenly, seeming unperturbed. Sirius on the other hand had his eyes fixed firmly on the ground, it appeared as though he would rather be anywhere else than here right now.

'James, if this is some sort of joke...' Charles began in warning, turning back to his son.

'It's not Dad' James assured with an almost sympathetic look at his father 'we would hardly joke about something like this'.

Charles sighed and ran a hand over his face 'If only you were' he muttered.

Sirius visibly flinched slightly at that, and it did not go unnoticed by either James or Remus who shared a look with each other before James turned to address his friend. 'Sirius, why don't you go on up to my room while we talk things over down here' he suggested.

'It's me you're going to be talking about' Sirius replied moodily, glancing up at James quickly before again focusing on the kitchen floor.

'I know, but I think Mr Potter wants to talk to me and James about some of it privately' Remus reasoned calmly 'and it's only fair we allow him to'.

'Go on up Sirius' James urges when he still hasn't moved. Sirius turns to go, stopping in the doorway to look shoot a questioning look at both James and Remus in turn. Remus smiles at him calmly and James nods his head in encouragement. At this Sirius finally leaves the room and they are all silent as they listen to his footsteps on the stairs, following the sound until it ends with the closing of a bedroom door.

'Look Dad, I know this is weird' James begins, hoping to somehow explain their current situation.

'You're damn right it's weird' Charles interrupted forcefully 'You're telling me that you've adopted a son, who is the same age as you' he repeated incredulously.

'We've not adopted him' James said with a sigh.

'But you think of him like one' Charles returned, staring hard at his son.

'Well no, not quite, it's more of an older brother/younger brother kind of thing' James tried to explain 'older brothers who occasionally tell him off and make him go to bed, so yeah sort of like very parental, older brothers'. Charles raised an eyebrow at his son's piss poor attempt at an explanation.

'It's my fault Sir, it's because of what I am' Remus admitted, sounding somewhat apologetic.

'You're not a what Remus Lupin!' James immediately retorts 'and it's not your fault, it just happened' he adds, softening his tone.

'How did it happen exactly, how is that Sirius suddenly goes from best friend to son?' Charles questions, still not believing the conversation he was having. He's still not ruling out the possibility that this is all some big prank of his son's making.

'Well you see Dad, Sirius' family don't exactly treat him how they should, and so we've always watched out for him' James tries to explain.

'The wolf in me recognised Sirius as pack, if you will, and saw in him a vulnerability and a need for someone to look after him and so for the wolf that translates to cub' Remus continued 'and with James and I together, those feelings got forced onto him'.

'But we were already pretty protective of Sirius anyway' James adds and Remus smiles and nods 'We were', he agreed.

'It all came to a head this year really and certain...events occurred that meant we had to take a more active role in Sirius' life or he would end up hurting himself or others' the tight expression on Remus' face and the strange look in his eyes as he said this made Charles aware that there was definitely an interesting story there. Whether he actually wanted to be privy to this information, he wasn't entirely sure. He was pretty certain he wouldn't like what he would hear.

'And it doesn't matter that he is the same age as you both?' Charles presses, trying to remain with the issue at hand.

'No, the wolf doesn't really take things like that into account' Remus replies with a wry smile.

'Okay, fine, I understand all that, but how are you boys going to deal with this?' Charles asks.

'Well, it's like we said Dad, we'll look out for Sirius and make sure he's doing alright...' James tried to explain.

'Yes but you said before that you've always done that anyways' Charles interrupted 'but the way you were talking earlier sounded more like you were going to be parents to him'.

He watched as they shared a look with one another 'In a way we will be' James answered 'since his actual parents clearly don't give a damn, he needs someone to care about him and in case you weren't already aware Dad, Sirius has a bit of problem with authority figures'.

'Do you even understand what that means?' Charles asked in frustration, only being able to focus on what his son had just admitted.

James frowned at that 'of course we do, we've been practically parenting Sirius for ages anyways' he retorted.

'James it's not as easy as you think, you'll have to be strict with him on things that friends don't usually even consider' Charles tried to get it through to his son just how different the dynamics of their friendship would be.

'Dad, we know that' James insisted 'Believe me; we know it's a huge change'.

Charles gave his son a searching look 'and what about Sirius?' he inquired, eager to know how the rebellious teen was taking all this.

'Well, he was outraged at first and adamant that he was having no part in any of this' Remus answered with an amused smile, recalling that particular conversation.

James caught the smile and returned it with one of his own 'but more than anything Sirius wants a family, he wants to belong somewhere' James explained to his father 'and although he might not admit it, he loves having someone look out for him and care about him'.