A/N: Sorry for the little delay but I got the flu this week, so it was sort of complicated to write...

Grimmauld Place, 28 June 1996

The last Friday of June brought along the last day of term at Hogwarts and the time for Izzy and Harry to come back home for their Summer Break.

For the first time in their lives, Sirius and Mia weren't sure if they should be happy or worried about it. On the one hand, they were obviously excited to have all their children nearby again as the house clearly wasn't the same without them; on the other hand, they couldn't help feeling a bit uneasy because they knew the kids were a lot safer at Hogwarts: there, they could go out of the castle and still be protected by the wards… at home, however, if they left the house, there was nothing to protect them except for themselves. That was one of the many dangers during war-time – whenever people came out of their places, they couldn't know if they'd make it back in. And even though no attacks had occurred within the wizarding community yet, that fear certainly was hovering over everyone's heads now more than ever.

As he thought about that, Sirius sighed with his eyes closed and felt a hand softly touching his face, making him open one eye to see Mia looking down at him, her left arm now sling-free. He was lounging on the living room couch, his head lazily resting on his wife's lap as they waited for the time to pick up Harry and Izzy to arrive. Sirius got hold of her hand and brought it closer to his lips, kissing the back of it.

"You look thoughtful. Care to share?" she asked, smiling down lightly, with the sound of the Muggle telly broadcasting the news of the day in the background. They weren't really watching it at the moment, they just had it on so there wouldn't be complete silence in the background…

"Depressive stuff," Sirius stated with a huff.

"Do you want to be more specific?"

He shrugged. "I was trying to figure out how we'll manage the kids this Summer with the war… it feels like everything outside of this house will become a battlefield."

"I know," she whispered. "But we can't keep them locked in. I wish we could so they'd be safe but…"

"It wouldn't be fair," Sirius stated. "Merlin, this sucks."

Mia let out a breath and softly touched his hair in a soothing manner. Suddenly, the voices on the telly caught her attention and she turned to watch it – the news anchor was announcing the suspicious death of twelve people in the streets of London in the past two weeks.

"… the police suspects that a serial killer is responsible for all these deaths, though no sign of trauma or poisoning was found in any of the bodies. Dr. Martin Brown from the Forensic Sciences Service is here to give us his judgment in this matter. Good Afternoon, Dr.…"

"I'd bet all the gold I have that it is Death Eater's doing," Sirius said, motioning to sit up on the sofa.

Mia nodded. "They're only attacking Muggles so far."

"Yeah. Because they want to send us a message: nobody in and out of the wizarding world is safe. Like we don't bloody know it already."

Mia reached for him and wrapped one arm around his back as she rested her head on his shoulder. "They can't even defend themselves against something they don't even know that exists."

"It's sick," he agreed, taking a deep breath.

This time, he was the one rubbing her long, silky brown hair and pressing a kiss to the top of her head. It was affecting her, the deaths. Last time around, that was the way it had all started – random deaths. Sirius immediately regretted mentioning that. He knew that as much as she tried to cling to the hope she'd managed to get from the prophecy, there was only so much it could hold. And the last thing he wanted was for her to be under more stress than she needed, especially while carrying his child. He felt tempted to just get rid of the Muggle telly, knowing hearing the news from there was bothering her further but, knowing she'd probably call him an overprotective git over it and get her knickers in a twist, he simply turned it off using the remote.

"Let's not think of this stuff, okay?" he suggested gently as she pulled away from his hold a little, to get a better look at him. "The kids are coming back home today, I'd rather welcome them grinning instead of moping."

Mia smiled a little at the mention of them. "You're right. We should make things normal for them. Or as normal as possible." It wasn't easy being a parent during wartime. She let out a sigh and forced herself to get in a better mood for their sake and, partly, her own as well. "Have you thought what you'll say if, by any chance, we get to meet Izzy's boyfriend today?" she asked, casually.

He groaned. "Please, don't remind me. Couldn't she just stay away from boys for one or two more years?"

She raised an eyebrow. "I believe you started snogging girls and going out with them when you turned thirteen. She's one year older that you were, if my math is correct."

"Well, I didn't call any of them my 'girlfriend', did I?"

"And that's supposed to be something on your favour?" Mia asked sceptically. "Look, at least she's just sticking with one boy and, from what I've gathered, the best adjectives she has to describe are 'nice' and 'sweet'. It's just a little teenage fling." She looked at him and nearly laughed when she found him pouting like a little kid.

"I still don't like it," Sirius mumbled stubbornly.

His wife huffed. "Look, let's put it like this: if you act like an arse to Terry, she'll be hurt and angry at you. Do you want that to happen?"

"Of course I don't," he replied. "It's just… she's our first baby. It's hard to let go."

Mia felt a little sympathetic and rested a hand on his shoulder. "You won't have to let go of her anytime soon. She's fourteen and has a boyfriend, not twenty and getting married. Believe me, Izzy is still very far from leaving the nest."

So, I may be dramatizing it a little too much… Sirius accepted. Well, he had the right, hadn't he? Two years of experience as a father and having a daughter already dating was quite a complicated match. He supposed he hadn't had that problem with Harry because he was very aware of what went through a boy's mind at that age in terms of girls and he knew and liked Ginny Weasley. A teenage girl's mind, however, was rather mysterious to him, not to mention that he had no idea what sort of guy Terry Boot was. He supposed he couldn't be that bad or else she wouldn't be dating him. Plus, Harry would have said something if Boot was a git. "I suppose I can give her a little credit," he mumbled.

"Good," she said, victorious. "You're not the only one who gets a sort of clueless with them growing up, Sirius. To me, it seems like it was yesterday that they were little kids asking for cuddling."

Sirius sighed. "Well, at least Alex is still in cuddling age," he offered. "That's good."

"Yes, and so will be the baby on the way," Mia pointed out, smiling.

He smiled back and didn't resist resting a hand on her flat abdomen. The poor kid was probably as small as fig at the moment. Mia wasn't three months along yet, and, apart from her clothes seeming slightly tighter on her and that glow that she seemed to have, one could barely tell she was pregnant so far. Yet, he always thought of it, every time he looked at her. With the matter of Izzy's boyfriend forgotten, he looked up at Mia and smiled. "Have I mentioned you look even more beautiful when you're having my baby?"

Mia smiled. "I supposed you've said it once or twice already," she said. "Keep that in your mind when I'm too big to sleep on my stomach."

"Why would I need to? You're still beautiful when you're too big to sleep on your stomach, love," he told her, faking confusion. "More of you to love."

"Well, aren't you the flatterer, Mr. Black?" she asked, smiling at him as her hand reached up to his face. "Kiss me?"

"If you insist," he said before wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her firmly to him, joining their mouths with fierce.

She let out a moan against his lips and, let herself enjoy. Kissing him was an indulgence she just couldn't give up, not even before the two of them had started dating, although it hurt her back then knowing he wasn't all hers. Teenage minds, afraid to give it all and ruin it all had made them deny their feelings until they'd finally come clean in their seventeenth birthday and started what had bloomed into what they were today. A unit.

After he stranded her under his body, carefully not to crush her with his weight, his lips left hers to tease her jaw, her neck and the bridge that led to her shoulder, making her grip on his side grow stronger. She was nearly lost by the time his lips made their way back to hers but a little voice in the back of her head reminded her that they had other things to do. "Sirius," she managed to say, her voice muffled by his mouth. "We don't have…" he interrupted her with another kiss, which she couldn't help responding "… time for this."

"Hum?" he mumbled, pulling away, a bit confused.

"The kids. We've got to pick them up from the train in…" she reached for his arm and pulled it to her in order to check his watch as she wasn't wearing one at the moment "… twenty minutes. And there's also Alex – he'll be waking up from his nap at any minute."

Sirius groaned. "Can't time just take a break until we're done?"

"I don't think that's really possible." She kissed his cheek as they sat back up. Mia herself felt a little frustrated with the need to stop. Those pregnancy hormones were starting to get to her in what came to moods and… other sorts of moods, tightly related to Sirius, obviously. "There's always tonight," she said, giving him a smile, "with no interruptions then."

"You can bet I'll take you up on that," he warned her, getting up and offering her his hand to pull her up too, which she accepted. "Come on, the sooner we get the kids home, the sooner we'll find an excuse to get ourselves in our room all alone."

Going to Platform 9 ¾ – now with aurors all over it for everyone's protection – on the days that were marked as the beginning or end of an year at Hogwarts was always an opportunity to run into several old friends, acquaintances or good old foes. Still, as for the latter option, it was safe to say that the odds of it happening had been severely reduced for the simple fact that many of the mentioned foes had been sent to Azkaban, following their altercation at the Department of Mysteries.

Consequently, it was very easy to spot a group of Death Eaters' wives – without their respective husbands – standing in the shadows waiting for the train to arrive with their children. Narcissa Malfoy didn't keep herself from shooting Sirius her best glare in the moment she stepped into the platform and headed to meet the other Mrs. Death Eaters. Amused with his cousin's rage, Sirius waved at her with a grin all over his face, making Narcissa turned her face away.

"Ah, always lovely to see family, isn't it?" he told Mia, sarcastically. "Should we go there and say 'hi'?"

Mia gave him a cautious look as she held her son, who looked fascinated by all the people around, by the hand. "Let's not strike the beehive, especially not when we have a toddler around," she warned him. "It's not a secret Narcissa has a mean temper and no scruples whatsoever."

He shrugged. "I suppose being cursed would ruin the fun of mocking her, after all…"

On the floor, little Alex started to pull his father's leg in order to get his attention. "Up, Daddy!"

Sirius chuckled and granted his son's wish, scooping him up and holding him in his arms. "There you go, mate. I suppose you'll get a better look at girls from up here," he told his son mischievously. "But I don't think there are many girls with your age around here."

"Don't start giving him ideas already, Sirius," Mia said, rolling her eyes before she reached for her son and kissed his soft, rosy cheek. "Here, let me take him for a while." She'd missed being able to carry him while her shoulder was useless and her arm was contained in a sling.

Sirius looked hesitant. "Are you sure you…" He stopped talking when she gave him a don't-even-try look and just passed her the baby, whom she shifted to carry on her hip.

The little boy immediately resumed looking around, amazed with all the people, pointing every now and then and calling for their attention.

While Mia was entertaining her son by walking around with him, her eyes reached the entrance of the platform and she frowned at the sight. "What is she doing here?"

Sirius turned around to look at the entrance too and was displeased to find one Barbara Lasher – in their Hogwarts days, a Slytherin prefect, Head Girl wannabe, having been beaten there by Lily, and head pain in the arse – making her way into the platform. "Probably has a kid in the school. Moony and I spotted her here back in September too…" he said quickly. "Blimey, don't look right at her – she'll spot us with her bat radar and we'll never get rid of her."

"Too late, she's already heading this way," Mia said under her breath, clutching her son closer as the woman approached.

"The Blacks! I just can't believe it!"

Her voice had a high-pitched tone that was almost painful to hear. That was just one of the many reasons to despise her. She was exceedingly pretty, too pretty to be natural, all perky features and tumbling coal-black hair. Last time Sirius and Mia had counted, she'd married well four times, become widowed once and gotten separated three times. All of that summed, Barbara was the owner of a very fat Gringotts vault.

She spared them a painfully fake smile and her eyes landed on Alex. "Oh, and a baby. How delightful. Looks just like his father." She reached to pat the baby's cheek but he was faster and hid his little face against his mother's neck, clearly uncomfortable with Barbara's presence. "Oh, well, not very social."

"Must be the company" Mia replied coldly, rubbing her son's back

Barbara ignored her words. "I saw you and just couldn't resist dropping by to say 'hello'," she told them, who deeply wished she had resisted and stayed as far away as it was possible. The woman turned to Sirius and smiled. "I heard you were innocent, of course. I've been meaning to call, but I've been so busy." She let out a clearly fake sigh. "All those terrible stories." Delighted malice flitted around her magically engorged lips. "Why it must have been just dreadful for you. I just can't imagine the terror of spending such a long time in prison."

He narrowed his eyes – well, wasn't it obvious the bloody snake had come around to bite them a little bit? Hadn't changed a thing since school… unless maybe having grown meaner. "Well, it was no five-star hotel," he said, not presenting her with the sorrow she'd been hoping for.

"I assume you are here to pick up your children," Mia said, trying to distract her from the subject.

"Just my daughter," Barbara corrected. "Romilda started her first year at the same time Sirius here escaped from that awful prison. I'll have to confess I found it awful that Patterson was the one to commit those crimes…"

"Pettigrew," Mia corrected.

"…such good friends you all were. A simple lack of judgement – happens to anyone."

She just can't keep her mouth shut, can she? Sirius thought, deciding he was done with the pleasantries. "Even to you, apparently. Three ex-husbands. Isn't that quite a string of lack of judgement? Unless, of course, dumping them was the plan."

"Oh, what a ridiculous thing to say," she said sharply.

"Yes, just plain silly. Now, Babs, I've just remembered the most hilarious thing. Do you remember that time you got a terrible case of hives after badmouthing Mia?" He glanced at his wife and saw her lips curling – she hadn't forgotten it at all.

Barbara's eyes narrowed and she dropped the mask. "I knew it was you, but Dumbledore wouldn't believe me. Brainless old berk."

"Actually it was James but only because I lost the draw. It was my idea. Now would you like to leave quietly, or should I get my wand and send you out of here bicoloured and hysterical again?"

Her face was red with fury and her hands clutched so tightly into fists that Sirius bet those sharp nails of hers would break through skin… that was, if she didn't lunge forward to pierce them through him. "You were always nothing but a second-grade scallywag who managed to get himself kicked out of his own family!" she hissed, turning on her heels and, to their delight, walking far away from the pair.

"Annoying little slag," Sirius said under his breath, not loud enough for his son to catch. "She tries so bad to be mean but after one's dealt with Dolores Umbridge, all others seem like novices, don't they?"

"Now that you mention it…" Mia mumbled, shifting Alex in her arms. "But did you guys really give her hives because she was badmouthing me?"

"Well, it was my first week as your boyfriend – I had to prove myself worthy," he stated, casually.

Mia smiled and kissed his cheek. "Well, that's really sweet… in a strange sort of way."

He grinned in return and wrapped one arm around her waist, letting her rest her head against his shoulder.

"Sirius, Aunt Mia," they heard Harry calling a few seconds later he approached them, pulling his trunk behind him as Izzy followed him. "Hey."

"Welcome back," Mia said lively, giving them a smile before she passed the baby to Sirius and made her way to the kids, wrapping her arms in a hug around them both at the same time.

Despite being a little embarrassed by being hugged in public, they couldn't hugging her back, glad to see her okay – last time they'd laid eyes on her, she'd been lying in a bed at the Hospital Wing, rather bruised and with an injured arm. Mia pulled away a few seconds later and gave them each a smile before looking straight at Harry. "Are you okay?"

He could see in his godmother's eyes that she was talking about the prophecy – she wanted to know how he was dealing with it. Izzy realized it too, having been told of it a couple of days before and simply remained quiet, letting him speak.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said, giving Mia a small smile. Ginny had been helping him a lot when dealing with it and he could tell for sure that he wasn't half as terrified now as he'd been before. Still, he made an effort to show himself more confident than he actually was. "I think deep down I always knew I'd have to be the one to face him. Hopefully it will all work out in the end."

His godmother's lips curled. "I'm glad you think that way."

There were a few seconds of uncomfortable silence until Izzy spoke. "So, do you know the sex of the baby already? Is it a girl? Because we really need to even the numbers back home."

"Even the numbers?" Harry asked. "For eleven years I lived alone with three women and now you're complaining about there having two of you and three of us? If anything, it should be a boy to make up for the minority of men that there was in our family for years."

"Oh, shut it," Izzy replied before turning to her mother. "So, what is it?"

"We've decided to let it be a surprise," Sirius said as he approached, holding Alex by the hand, only letting go of him so he could toddle to his mother and wrap himself around one of her legs. "Guess we'll just have to wait until mid January, which is when he or she will be born." Even though he was curious about it, himself. But he supposed he could live with it, anyway. "Well, did you guys have a good train ride?"

"Yeah, it was nice," Izzy said before turning to glare at Harry. "Except for that time when I ran into someone snogging at the end of the train's hall."

"There was nobody around when we got there!" Harry protested. "And Ginny was the one who started it." Not that he was complaining about it.

Sirius chuckled – he and Mia used to be the ones that always ended up with people running into them while they were snogging. "Happens to everyone, kid." He looked back at his daughter, then, and tried to keep a casual tone. "Hum, so where's that… boyfriend of yours?"

"Terry? Oh, we… we kind of broke up last night after the end-of-the-year feast," she said, letting out a single sigh. She liked Terry but not in a way that would last – they certainly didn't have the bond or the chemistry that she saw Harry and Ginny or her parents sharing. "We just realized it wouldn't work out long distance for us – he lives in Northern Ireland and his parents are Muggle, so doesn't have a floo connection… I suppose overall we're better off as friends."

Sirius was taken aback, surprised. "Really? So there's no boyfriend now?"

Izzy raised her eyebrows. "Why? Did you religiously hate the idea?"

He knew that if he said 'no' straight away it would sound as fake as it actually was… "Just a little," Sirius confessed. "Would it help if I said I was going to give him a chance to prove himself before scaring him as far away as his legs could take him?"

Izzy smiled a bit at her father's silliness before reaching for his cheek and kissing it. "You'll have a chance to do that with the next one, Daddy. I could go find one now and just bring him here for you to scare off."

Sirius narrowed his eyes. "Little pest, aren't you, Izzybel?" He turned to Harry. "Isn't she?"

"Just a little. There are girls a lot worse," Harry stated, trying to remain neutral in that matter.

"I wonder who she takes after, anyway," Mia stated, giving Sirius an amused look.

"I have no idea what you're implying," he said in a mock-offended tone as he reached for Izzy's trunk, in order to carry it for her. "Well, shall we go home now or do any of you have something else to do here?"

They all agreed to leave and, after Sirius and Mia had gotten hold of the kids' trunks and Izzy had picked her little brother up from the floor, made their way to one of the fireplaces so they could floo back to Grimmauld Place.

When all five of them reached the fireplaces, Mia wished they'd waited a couple of more minutes so they'd have avoided ending up right behind Narcissa and Draco Malfoy on the line to take the floo. Narcissa was the only one of the two to notice them but she didn't even acknowledge them until her son flooed away – Draco would make trouble out of seeing them. Then, with him gone, she turned around and gave them a cold look before speaking – thankfully, both Izzy and Harry were too far behind to hear her.

"The Dementors have left Azkaban," she said quietly. "Lucius and the others will be out in no time. When they are, they'll make you all pay for sending them in."

"We'll make sure to send you note after we're done with them," Sirius stated boldly while Mia chose not to speak. "Oh, and give Bella a message for me: next time I see her, I'll make her pay for every bruise, every cut and every break she got on my wife."

"If you have a chance," Narcissa said, stepping into the fireplace and disappearing into the fire.

Mia's hand touched his shoulder and he turned to face her. "Do you think she meant it?"

"About Malfoy and his pals wanting revenge? I'm sure she did. But there's a big difference between wanting something and getting it. If they try, we'll be ready for then," Sirius assured her. "Now, come on, let's go home."

Biting her lip nervously, Mia nodded. The talk with Narcissa might have been short but it certainly had been enough to leave a mark of fear behind…

A/N: Sort of a filler but I hope you liked it :D Inspiration is hard on you when one has a headache the size of the moon... Feedback is welcome! Review!