Untitled – Blackinnon Secret Santa
Written for Chessipedia as part of the Blackinnon Secret Santa on Tumblr.
Prompt: 'AU where they all survive and Remus asks advice for his relationship with Tonks'.
This was originally just going to be posted as the more Blackinnon moments but I wanted to have the context included too and writing the marauders parts for my notes was just too fun. I've written a Sirius that is quite protective of Tonks because I think that, if he hadn't been through Azkaban, he would have been much closer to Andromeda and by extension Tonks.
The sun was setting over Godric's Hollow, the nights were drawing in and Christmas would soon be upon the residents. While the Muggles and Wizarding community very rarely overlapped in the village, at Christmas they celebrated together, putting their social differences aside for a day of revelry and festivities. Two Wizarding households in particular eagerly embraced their Muggle kin over the holiday period, the Blacks and the Potters; but it wasn't quite Christmas just yet. Trees weren't yet shedding needles over the carpet, there were no paper chains hanging from the low beams of the ceilings and, although James and Sirius had inhaled three advent calendars between them, neither family was eager to acknowledge the arrival of festivities until Lyra Black and Harry Potter returned from their term at Hogwarts.
On various nights of the week the Marauders (sans Wormtail) congregated together in both Godric's Hollow and Remus' secluded family cottage in the South East of England. This habit had been automatic upon leaving Hogwarts, one that none of the trio had ever questioned. Lily and Marlene joked that, when marrying James and Sirius, they had married all three Marauders rather than just their own. They didn't begrudge their husbands their camaraderie, Marlene and Lily had been close enough at Hogwarts that they'd fallen into the rhythm of seeing each other daily and had never really considered anything else either.
It was on one of these nights, a night in the middle of an unseasonably warm December, that Remus Lupin sat in the Black family's living room eagerly clutching a glass of Ogden's Finest Firewhiskey. He'd asked his fellow marauders for a 'private chat' but, now that they sat across from him on Sirius Black's well-loved sofa, he was seriously regretting it. He hadn't even said anything yet but they both looked so bloody eager, with wide grins and sparkling eyes. In the twenty-three years that he'd known James Potter and Sirius Black, nothing good had ever come from the expressions on their faces at that moment. The bastards were loving it already.
He was ready to tell Dora the truth now. The full moon had just passed and he wanted to break the news of his condition to her the following day, giving him a full month before the next transformation for him to process the emotions. In reality Remus was allowing himself time to deal with her rejection; self-loathing had always seemed to encourage the wolf in him. At least it wouldn't be as bad as it used to though, between Lily's wolfsbane potion and the company of Sirius and James it was as pleasant as Remus believed it could ever be.
Dora loved him, he was almost certain; for a woman that always fluctuated between looks and moods she was an easy book to read in that respect. And Remus? Well, he was ready to tell her that he was a werewolf, which surpassed love in his book.
Remus drew in a shaky breath, trying to ignore his nerves; here goes nothing, he thought. "Sirius, James, I need some advice-"
Sirius, quite predictably, jumped in immediately, his grin stretching wider than before (if it was even possible), "oh, really? Do tell Moony."
"There's…" he sighed, still unsure of how to breach the subject best. "There's a witch."
"Merlin's beard-" muttered James, reverence in his voice as he leaned forward in his seat. You could feel the melodrama building between Sirius and James already, Remus noted wryly, it felt very much like old times in the boy's dormitory and the good-natured teasing the pair aimed at him and Peter.
"-the day has come-" added Sirius, equalling James' low tone of amazement.
"-Our little Moony-"
"-He's noticed-"
"-girls!" they both cried together gleefully.
Bollocks thought Remus, this really wasn't worth the headache. "Shit, look I knew this wasn't worth it." The werewolf muttered, covering his face with his hands and making to rise from the chair. He'd go find Lily and Marlene, they'd be more helpful than the pair of loons he called mates.
James made a dramatic show of looking offended, causing Remus to roll his eyes as the wizard blocked his path. "No, no, now hold on-" said James.
"-You wanted advice-" added Sirius from his seat, not bothering to stand, knowing well enough that Remus would give in and sit down eventually. James had always liked to do the persuasive leg work anyway, why deny him a rare opportunity?
"-So you must be desperate-"
"-Silly fool," chastised Sirius. "You should have come to us years ago."
"I'm sure we offered our services once-" said James, bouncing on his toes – it really was as if he was fifteen again, Merlin have mercy.
"-Twice?"
"Yes, I seem to recall a few occasions trapped in a broom closet," replied Remus dryly, the pair had reacted exactly how he'd expected. The poor sods were growing predictable with age.
James looked shocked, "that Moony was for your own good!"
"Sharon Lewis was petrified, James!" replied Remus, laughing despite himself.
"Did you show her your Basilisk?" asked James, his face a picture of mock sincerity.
"Merlin's beard, James Potter!" interrupted Lily Potter as she and Marlene walked into the living room where Remus' 'private chat' wasn't really taking place. She carried Calla Potter with her and Remus noticed that his daughter's presence was enough to chastise Lily's (thoroughly whipped in Sirius's opinion) husband into acting, if not his age, then something far closer to it.
"Sorry, Lil," James apologised, ignoring Sirius' smirk. "Remus wants girl advice," he said waggling his eyebrows.
"So why has he come to you?" asked an amused and heavily pregnant Marlene as she settled herself on Sirius' lap, not the only whipped one thought Remus wryly.
Lily settled herself on the floor in front of James, "tell us about her, Remus." Her sincere curiosity was a welcome reprieve to Remus' friends' good natured teasing. It was now or never, if Remus wanted good and honest advice it was best to ask when Lily and Marlene were present – he should have thought of that before.
"She's…" he sighed, struggling to find the words. " Merlin, she's lovely. She's funny, she's clumsy and she is the single most accident prone witch I've ever met," his head shook in amazement as he remembered the times where she'd broken countless things without seeming to give them a second glance; Dora's ability to break anything in reach seemed to be one of life's great mysteries. "You can't hate her, truly Lily, you can't. She's so genuine and she's got this… this life to her that, oh Merlin, I just want to cherish. She's ever-changing, a whole spectrum of colours and emotions and faces and unpredictability. She's a metamorphmagus, but she's also constant, she can be so varied but so constant that I can't quite- I can't quite understand it. And I think this is it, guys, I think she is it for me. I've been seeing her for nine months now and I think I'm ready to tell her about my… my furry little problem."
The room was quiet as Remus' admission sunk in to his friends, joviality and gags were overridden with caution – he was sincere, he really was ready to tell his deepest secret to some witch he hadn't introduced to them. This was a big deal and a lot to process, James and Sirius tried to not feel hurt by Remus' words; nine months and this was the first time they were hearing anything of her, even by Remus' standards that was strange.
"Wait," said Sirius, as he realised just exactly whom Remus had described. "A metamorphmagus, you said?"
"Yes, Sirius," replied Remus, calmly, while internally cursing up a storm, trust him to forget Dora's relation to his friend at the worst moment.
Sirius was scowling at his friend across the coffee table, "Remus, are you dating my cousin?"
Remus visibly gulped, this really wasn't going how he'd planned, "…um…"
"SHE'S A BABY, REMUS!" he roared, earning a dig in the stomach from a disgruntled (and slightly deafened) Marlene on his lap.
"Padfoot," said James laughing at his friend. "She's twenty-one, she's an adult."
"This is indecent!" he yelled, revulsion colouring his voice.
"Oh, yes," scoffed Marlene, who rolled her eyes and pointed at her pregnant stomach. "Sirius Black: protector of decency."
He pulled Marlene to himself and rested his chin on her shoulder. It was the closest he'd get to acknowledging that she was right. "Remus Lupin, she was born during our third year!" he chastised futilely.
"I'm aware of that, Sirius," replied Remus who was pointedly trying not to match Sirius' raising tone.
Sirius growled in frustration, "you signed a congratulations card to Andromeda!"
"You organised a card, Sirius?" interrupted Marlene, trying again to defuse her husband's outrage and evidently surprised at his thirteen year old self being particularly thoughtful.
"No! Remus did!" Neither paid particular heed to James' wheezing laughter as he gave up all attempts to contain himself or Calla rolling on the floor next to him, not particularly understanding her father's mirth but copying it all the same.
Despite James and Calla's obvious amusement, the mood of the living room had clearly soured and, while Lily tried to distract a giggling Calla from any growing confrontation, Remus stared unwavering at Sirius; this (he'd already decided) was one thing he wouldn't back down on at Sirius' insistence.
"Right," announced Marlene, suddenly stern as she raised herself slowly off of Sirius' lap, bracing her back. "Sirius, join me in the kitchen, won't you?"
"Marlene," Sirius whined, not wanting to leave the building confrontation and be seen to back down in his argument with Remus.
"Kitchen, Sirius."
The Black's kitchen was a warm and homely place, very different to the chilling cold of Grimmauld Place. Copper pans hung from the low beams, bouncing the early afternoon sun across the room and onto the faces of Marlene and Sirius Black who sat perched on the edge of the long wooden table. Sirius picked at the grain of the wood, avoiding the dark look in the blue eyes of his wife, he could feel the argument about Remus brewing and was wise enough to try and avoid confrontation with a pregnant witch.
Marlene's hand covered his, stopping him from digging his nails into the table, she threaded her fingers between his and, with a gentle squeeze of his hand, softly said, "I know you're feeling protective towards Tonks-"
His grey eyes flashed with anger, "too bloody right I am, Marly! She's my baby cousin!" he replied defensively, trying to pitch his voice lower so it wouldn't carry into the living room.
"She's twenty-one, Sirius, and this is Remus Lupin we're talking about here-"
"Exactly!" he said, feeling vindicated. "He should know better!"
"Or maybe this means it's serious," she countered patiently. "This is Remus, he doesn't do this and he doesn't date. Don't you think that if he's considering telling a girl that he's a werewolf that it just might be a bit more important than a thirteen year age gap? This is it for him, Sirius. You saw him in there, he loves her. So get the fuck over yourself, because now is the time to be a friend, a marauder, not a bloody prude!"
Sirius mulled over her words and then snorted inelegantly. "You think I'm a prude?" he asked, nudging her with his shoulder. He allowed a small smile on his face and Marlene knew she'd got through, thank Merlin.
Marlene smiled back at him and, taking his face between her hands, she kissed him lightly and asked, "I don't know, are you?"
The grin that broke out on Sirius' face was instantaneous, "OI! Prongs! Moony! Marly thinks I'm a prude!" he cried out as he ran back to the living room and the marauders gathered there.
"Perish the thought, Padfoot," said James, now back to lounging on the sofa and much more composed than before. Remus smiled hesitantly, wanting to appreciate the joke but not sure if things had settled enough for him to tease his friend too.
"Moony," said Sirius, addressing his friend, a relaxed grin on his face. "You have my consent to date my cous-"
"Consent? Piss off, Padfoot!" replied Remus defensively, refusing to give Sirius an inch in this.
Sirius grinned wider in response and clapped him on the back, "that's settled then, when are you telling her?"
Wandlight lit the bedroom as Marlene Black made her way from the door to the bed slowly, trying to be quiet. Sirius was dozing, almost asleep and predictably lying across the middle of the bed. Marly always thought he was at his most 'dog-like' asleep, almost puppy like he would stretch out in his sleep, hogging bed and blanket with an innocent abandon he could never replicate awake.
Marlene lowered herself onto the bed next to her husband slowly, the pregnancy and swell of her stomach were taking a toll on her body by the end of each day now and she was looking forward to the nine months being up. "I'm proud of you, you know that?" she said with a shove to his arm, pushing him further across the bed to allow room for herself, knowing that he'd wrap around her as soon as she'd settled.
"What?" asked Sirius, his voice was sleepy and he was clearly not awake enough to pay attention.
"I'm proud of you, idiot. All that with Remus, I know it was hard for you."
"Oh," Sirius sighed, realising he wasn't going to sleep until his wife had said her piece. "You were right-"
"Beg pardon?" she asked, amused and surprised at his drowsy admission.
Sirius nudged her shoulder, knowing full well that she'd heard him the first time. "You were right. It's Remus. I shouldn't have overreacted, he wouldn't… He doesn't mess around. He's not going to hurt her, he's too earnest."
"And it's only taken you twenty odd years to work that one out?" she asked, amused.
"Oh, hush you," he muttered as he pushed his face into her neck, embracing her as she'd predicted and effectively shutting her up.