Author's Note: Hi everyone, I know this is a few days late, I was out of town and unable to upload from where I was. The beach is lovely, but no cell service to run my hotspot to upload through. Anyway, here's the second chapter. Harry's still a baby here, but you get to see his first Christmas and all the fun that goes with it. The next chapter will be up on Sunday, August 21. Thanks to my beta, Arnel, who is attempting to keep all of my various timelines straight (I only do it through a wall chart) and cleaning up my little gramatical errors. Deep thanks to all of you who have put the story on alert or have taken the time to review. Enjoy. MNF
Chapter 2:
The Holidays and Early 1981
Christmas 1980
"How do you have more presents for him?" Anwen asked Sirius. "When did you go shopping without me?" Sirius had been producing packages from the strangest of hiding places for the last ten minutes. They were preparing to visit the Potter's early Christmas morning.
"Anwen, honestly, we shop more often than normal people should," he rebuked her even as he took another rectangular box from inside the window seat in their sitting room. "Harry needs to be spoiled, and it's my job as his godfather to do it."
"Frank's his godfather too, and he didn't arrive yesterday with armloads of gifts," she reminded. The Potter's, Black's-with Louise Malfoy added, and Longbottoms had celebrated last night at Augusta Longbottom's home. All three babies - Harry, Draco and Neville - were showered with gifts while there. It seemed it didn't matter who was a biological grandmother or not, all three women were a tad excessive in the presents. Anwen was quite certain this morning's gift giving would pale last night's superfluity if Sirius was any indication. "Are you quite finished?"
"I am," Sirius announced proudly even as he was shrinking the pile to a more manageable size. "You okay to go by yourself?" Anwen had already shrunk the pile of gifts they'd gotten together.
"I'm fine. Let's go," she announced, just slightly annoyed at his insistence to help her. She was more stable on her brace-bound leg, he didn't need to hover.
The couple Flooed to their friend's and found Harry awake and staring at the Christmas tree, alight with fairies clinging to the branches. The baby was sitting in his bouncing chair, charmed by his father to comfortably move up and down. Sirius tilted his head and watched Harry for a few moments.
"You ever notice that when he's looking at things, he appears sort of stoned by them?" Anwen looked at him, aghast, before putting her hand to her forehead and kneading the flesh between her eyes.
"Do you ever have a thought without sharing it?" she mumbled too low for her husband to hear, but loud enough so Lily did. The baby's mother began to giggle.
"Sirius, I swear, he's not high; although, there are times I do think he gets a milk buzz. After he's fed he gets the most placid look on his face," Lily explained as she walked over to retrieve Harry. She then spied the pile of gifts Sirius was returning to normal size. "What did you do?"
Sirius looked at the pile, then at Lily and shrugged. "Just doing my job as godfather."
"Harry is never going to learn the meaning of the word 'no' if you three don't learn a little discretion. James already gave him a completely over the top, charmed rocking horse," Lily complained.
"That wasn't me, it was Father Christmas," her husband rebuked.
"Sure, delude yourself if you must," he muttered even as she took the baby from his seat and handed him to her husband and then crossed the room. She removed the sheet she'd covered the item with while it sat in the corner. The thing looked just like a small horse, which moved its head, neighed and swished it's tail. It stood on a small rounded sled the horse could make rock back and forth.
"Do you need to feed it?" Anwen enquired, baffled by the item since the only ones she'd seen as a child were made of wood.
"Thankfully, no, but the damned thing snores at night. Kept me awake last night. I think we're going to need to keep it out in the garage or maybe even the barn," Lily complained. The women looked at each other, then at the horse, then back to each other before lifting the sheet and covering it again.
The front door opened and closed and Remus walked in. The girls turned to greet him, but were met with another sight which halted them and caused their mouths to hang open.
Sirius had changed into Padfoot and James was helping hold Harry on his back as he rode.
"No, Sirius, no," Anwen stumbled over her words. "What in the name of Merlin's Y-fronts do you think you're doing?"
"We're teaching Harry to ride," James said proudly.
"He's not even five months old," Lily complained. "He can barely hold his head up on his own. Get him off of Sirius right now. Oh, and Mr. Black..." James removed little Harry and put him in his lap as he sat down on the floor. Once Harry was safe, Sirius bounded up onto the couch, put his front paws on the back on the furniture and licked Lily on the cheek. She shrieked in response while swatting at the giant dog.
Before she could make contact, Sirius was kneeling on the couch in front of her, ducking her open hand and barking his laugh which blended with the others in the room. Even Anwen was giggling, though she was trying hard not to.
"Sirius Black," Lily uttered through clenched teeth as she lifted one of Harry's blankets to wipe her face. "I swear I'm going to hex -"
"Lils my dear," Sirius interrupted, his face as innocent and sweet as her sons, "you can deny it all you want, but you know you'd miss me if I were gone." Lily grinned, against her longing not to, and just shook her head at him. "Well, with that all cleared up, let's open some gifts." He reached into his pile and took the rectangular box he'd pulled from the window seat at home.
"Might I suggest you open this one, Prongs, my friend?" Sirius said as he handed James the box. "Lils won't like it."
"Fine, here you take Harry." The baby was handed over and his godfather sat down, stretched out his long legs and laid Harry between them. He proceeded to tickle his stomach, making Harry laugh. Anwen and Lily had taken their places on the couch and Remus was now on the floor with his friends. Everyone was focused on the infant's laughter and the antics of his godfather which were producing it. No one was looking as James lifted the lid from the box and held up a small garment.
"I can't believe you did this," James muttered, looking at the item in his hands. Attention was turned to him and the present.
"What in the..."
"Where did you find it?"
"What have you done now, dear?"
Were heard simultaneously, but the loudest response came from Lily.
"There is no way in Hell you're taking my son on that damned bike of yours!"
Sirius had somehow, somewhere, found Harry a very small leather jacket, the duplicate of the one the man holding him wore when he flew his motorbike around France and England.
Two days before the new year, Anwen and Sirius were in Wales, spending the few days left of the holiday season with her family. They'd brought along her grandmother, Elisabeth Violette, excited to spend her first holiday in decades with her sons, and the first one ever with her grandchildren. The noon meal was finished and the littlest of Anwen's siblings were off playing, her older two quizzing her about magic with their parents. Anwen's magical skill had always been a taboo subject when she was home before. Since her marriage and the events which followed and the entrance of her grandmother back into her family, Anwen found her parents had been more accepting of magic. Grand-mére Violette was sitting with the group, chuckling at the two youngsters' questions.
"No, Wyn, I can't just create you a tank," Anwen said even as Sirius howled at the request. "I have to have something to change into a tank." Haf reached over and grabbed a small log from near the fireplace and thrust it at his sister.
"Here, use this," the eleven year old suggested.
"No," his sister protested. "Transfigurations of such nature are complex and comparable mass needs to be involved and...no, what do you want with a tank anyway?"
"Come on, no one would throw snowballs at me if I was going to school in a tank," he retorted.
"True," Anwen skeptically responded.
"Come on, Anwen, Da said you can make just about anything. You're supposed to be like some superhero or something with this stuff. Please," he pleaded, stretching out the please so it sounded as if it had several more vowels than it did.
Sirius looked at his wife and cocked his eyebrow before taking the log and his wand and transfiguring it into a toy-sized tank.
"You are so much cooler than my sister," Wyn said before running off to find Haf and brag.
"I'm cooler than you," Sirius mockingly taunted while the other adults laughed.
"Fine, but you're going to need to make one for Haf in a few minutes," Anwen rebuked.
"We have plenty of logs here," he bantered back, kissing her nose to punctuate the sentence.
"Ah, but when we don't have firewood for tonight, guess who'll be out in the snow splitting logs?" she quipped back.
"Young love is always so refreshing to be around," Grand-mére announced and the young wife blushed. "Of course, I could tell your parents stories which would make their hair curl about the two of you. His courting of you was rather...enthusiastic."
"You wouldn't?" Anwen asked, mortified. "Wait, we were already married." Grand-mére looked disappointed in the reminder. Before any more good-natured teasing could occur, a strange buzzing sound began emanating from Sirius's trouser pocket. He reached in and withdrew a round, flat stone, watching it shimmy back and forth as well as flash from its normal bluish-gray color to white and back again.
"Is it the stone from St. Mungo's?" Anwen asked. Sirius nodded.
"After they gave it to me a few weeks ago, when I finished signing all the parchments, I decided to carry it with me all the time. Lily and Alice kept having those practice things, I thought it might be wise," he explained.
"Do you want to Apparate over, just to check it out?"
"I will," he confirmed. "I shouldn't be more than a few minutes. It's probably nothing."
"Go, we'll both feel better if we know." Sirius lovingly kissed his wife and left the room, virtually ignoring the other four sets of eyes on him as he walked out the front door without a coat on. Only Anwen and Grand-mére recognized the tell-tale pop of someone Disapparating.
"St. Mungo's? Why did Sirius need to go to hospital?" Ma Hodgson asked. Professor McGonagall had brought Anwen's parents up to see her while she was recovering from the Great Battle.
"It's probably nothing," Anwen attempted to brush it off. "Just something we need to be notified of." The couple had yet to tell Anwen's parents of their impending parenthood and the bizarre situation surrounding it. They had planned to tell them, with Grand-mére's help, before returning to their home in France. Elisabeth Violette looked at her granddaughter suspiciously, already knowing about Felli, the baby and the situation by which the child had been created. Anwen ignored the look. "Sirius will be back soon."
"Lily and Alice both just had babies-" Ma continued before Anwen cut her off.
"Ma, I promise I'll tell you, but for now, please just leave it." Anwen's mother looked at her with the careful eyes a mother of five had. In her gut, she knew her daughter was keeping something from her, which troubled her greatly.
"Well, Liddy," Anwen said, addressing her fourteen-year-old sister, "tell me about the boys at your school." The older girl had succeeded in changing the subject. Liddy could go on for hours about boys.
The younger girl launched into a dissertation about every young man who went to her boarding school in Bristol. She was still talking when Sirius walked back through the front door no more than fifteen minutes after he left. He had a smile plastered on his face which stretched from ear to ear. Anwen didn't need to be told why.
"It's too early, isn't it?" she asked, worried, rising to greet him.
"Apparently not, the healers said all seems well. He said we should be there within the hour."
"Mother of grace, I'm not ready. We haven't even told..." with the thought fresh in her mind, she looked around the room, three sets of eyes looking confused, one set joyous. "This isn't how I wanted to tell them."
"I know, but it will be fine," Sirius promised. Together they walked back to the love-seat they'd occupied and looked at Anwen's parents.
"Lid, I know you want to know what's going on, but this is a conversation for grown-ups. I promise I'll tell you more later, okay?" Anwen said to her sister. Liddy pleaded with her eyes, Anwen shook her head. Dejectedly, the girl rose and left the sitting room, mumbling about 'not being a baby' as she left. Anwen lifted her hand and cast a Silencing Charm before speaking.
"Ma, Da, let me just say what I need to, and then you can ask questions. We're apparently on a bit of a time crunch here. Okay?" Cautiously, Anwen's parents agreed. She took a deep breath, threaded her fingers through her husbands and began to speak.
"The stone was our warning our ... our baby is about to be born. His mother, the woman giving birth to him, she wasn't due for another month. That's why we were surprised by it. We were planning to tell you when we were here for the holiday. So, congratulations, you're about to be grandparents!" Anwen's parents looked as she'd suspected they would, less than overjoyed. Even before they started to speak, she knew of their concerns. Choosing to be proactive, she began to explain.
"I know what you're thinking, we've only been married for a few months and we're both young, me very young, but trust me, this is what we both want and we're ever so happy for it."
"Anwen, dearest, I can see you are by the look on your face," her mother said, "but you've only just begun to really heal. Couldn't you have waited?"
"Er..." the young wife responded, unsure how to say what she'd left out. Her husband felt for her, and decided to take his chances and answer.
"This isn't just any baby," he explained. "This is my baby. I am the father, Anwen is just gracious enough to bring the child into our home and raise it as hers."
"You got another woman pregnant, and you married my daughter!" Caldwalder Hodgson bellowed. He stood, charging for the young wizard. Anwen awkwardly stood up and lunged between her father and husband.
"Daddy, stop. Let us explain," she begged.
"You bloody arse!" he screamed at Sirius. "How many young girls have you seduced? How many -" a sharp bang as the man flew back into his seat shocked the group. Anwen and Sirius looked at each other, both shaking their heads as they didn't cast the spell.
"Cal," Grand-mére said, her hand still raised, "you will listen to them." She had rebuked her grown son, putting him in his place as only a mother could. Anwen and Sirius sat down, forgetting while the woman might appear elderly, she was still one very powerful witch who needed no wand to do her magic. Anwen's unique skills had come from her.
"Daddy, I know you're upset, but Sirius didn't mean to impregnate Felli," Anwen explained.
"How exactly do you do such a thing by accident, Anwen Llyn Hodgson?"
"Black, Da." Anwen sounded disheartened, even as she corrected him. Cal was unenthusiastic about her wedding over the summer. He seemed even more unimpressed with her husband now.
"What?"
"Her name is Anwen Llyn Black, Cal," Rhosyn Hodgson spoke up. Caldwalder simply grunted at her correction.
"Mr. and Mrs. Hodgson, I never wanted to be with this girl. Anwen and I weren't married when this happened, but it didn't matter. I've loved your daughter since long before I married her. She is truly the only one I want," Sirius explained, looking down at his wife's supportive face.
"If you didn't want to be with this girl, Sirius, then why were you?" Rhosyn asked. Sirius looked away, embarrassed. Anwen gripped his hand tighter.
"Ma, Da, there's a spell you can do. It's like mind control. It's illegal and if you're caught doing it, you are sent straight to the wizarding prison. Two women, Sirius's cousins, they cast the spell on him and made him sleep with Felli. He wanted nothing to do with her, but...he wasn't given a choice," Anwen explained.
"So, you didn't intend to fornicate with someone other than my daughter?" Anwen would have found the word usage her Da came up with comical if the situation weren't so stressful.
"No, sir," Sirius lifted his head to answer. "I would sooner hurt myself than do anything to upset or cause Anwen pain." Caldwalder Hodgson looked at his son-in-law and pondered him for a moment. "This true, Ma? Is there really a spell?" He questioned his mother.
"Do you really need to ask me?" grand-mére queried. "Look at them, Cal," she pleaded. "Look at their faces and tell me if you honestly need me to affirm what they've told you." The man looked at her daughter and her husband and knew they were telling the truth. He grunted again, feeling no need to investigate further.
"So, the two of you are going to raise the baby?" Rhosyn asked, beginning to feel her insides alight with the idea of a grandbaby. "What about the mother, this Felli woman?"
"We are, Ma," Anwen answered with a bright grin. "I'm going to adopt him when the forty-five days of waiting are up. She," Anwen paused and took a deep breath, "Felli, is sentenced to one-hundred years in prison. It won't be an issue."
"The baby is going to be born today?" Rhosyn asked, her excitement now flung wide by her smile and excited perch on her chair.
"That's what the stone says. We really want to be there to when it happens," Sirius explained.
"By all means, get going then," Rhosyn said, nearly lifting them from their seats and pushing them to the door. "Will you be back?"
"I don't know when they'll let us leave the hospital," Anwen explained, nearly laughing at her mother's antics. "I know we're supposed to spend the night there with him or her."
"Do you have your things? Should I help you pack?" Rhosyn paused in her excitement.
"That won't be necessary," Sirius explained. "We've left a small case at the hospital, just for today. We'll be fine."
"Okay, well, then go, make sure you call and tell me what it is," she told them as she opened the front door, shooed them outside. "I'm gonna be a grandma! I need to get knitting." The door slammed shut.
Anwen stood looking at Sirius, opening and shutting her mouth. He leaned down and kissed her crown. "I don't..." she squished her forehead together in an attempt to understand.
"Don't try to," he told her. "I think she'll turn your father around just fine." Anwen nodded absentmindedly. "Come on, we have a baby about to be born."
The Blacks were sitting outside the birthing room, watching the clock and waiting for news. James and Remus had come to keep their friends company, Lily staying home with the slumbering Harry. Five minutes before midnight a cry was heard from inside the room, a strong, healthy cry of a newborn baby.
"You're a Dad," Anwen tearfully said to Sirius.
"You're a Mum," he answered back. The kiss they shared was one of bliss. Neither needed to mention how they wished their first child was part of both of them. Nor did they need to bring up the possibility Anwen might never bear her own infant. In this moment, despite the problems they'd overcome to get here, they were elated new parents.
James and Remus congratulated them and Sirius handed his friends each an expensive Satyr-made cigar he'd picked up while in Nottingham. The guys raised their eyebrows at the gift, but still pocketed the items. Satyr-made cigars were some of the best in the Wizarding world, known for their hallucinogenic effects. Sirius just grinned. There was a part of him, regardless of how responsible and respectable he was in the rest of his life, that would always be a mischief-making Marauder with his friends.
No more than five minutes later, the healer came out of the room, carrying a little bundle of baby, wrapped in a blue blanket. Healer Hoffman laid the boy in Sirius' arms, and immediately his parents fell in love.
"He's a strong one, especially being born a month early," the healer remarked. "I'd like for him to stay here for at least another day, maybe two, to make sure he's ready to go home. There's a few potions I think we should administer as well." He rubbed along his beard as he said this.
"There's nothing wrong though, is there?" Anwen asked in a panic.
"No, just want to make sure those lungs are ready for the cold air out there. You're going to be on the Nursery unit, past the lifts and around the corner there. Everything should be set up for you to stay here with him until he's ready to go home."
"Thank you," Sirius remarked without taking his eyes of the boy.
"Miss Seduiré did have one request," he very softly added. Anwen looked up, fear in her eyes over what Felli could want. Part of her, however small the part was, knew Felli would always have a part of their baby she didn't. Felli had given birth to him, and it was her blood which ran through his veins. She couldn't take him away from them, she was forced to give her rights up as she was convicted of some serious crimes. She could, however, make their lives unpleasant if she chose.
"What did she want?" Anwen inquired, struggling to keep her emotions in check, bracing herself for the request. Remus must have sensed this in his dear friend, putting a hand on her back for support.
"She asked if he could have the name Sebastian, after her father."
Anwen and Sirius looked at one another. They'd discussed names, though not settled on anything. It was as good a name as any other, but in her heart Anwen knew it would always be 'her' name for their son, not theirs. She didn't like the implications.
"We'll think about it," Sirius said with finality. Healer Hoffman turned and went back to his patient, leaving the Marauders and Anwen marveling at the boy. Together they walked around to the Nursery, spoke with the medi-witch at the desk and settled into their room.
"I'm Eleanor," a cheerful middle-aged woman said as she took some measurements of the baby, "and I'm on duty until just after dawn. Have you picked out a name yet, it's good to put it on the chart," she explained, pointing at the hovering parchment her notes were being penned on.
"We're still working on that," Sirius explained and she nodded.
"Sometimes it takes a while, gotta give the right one. Take your time. He's probably ready to eat, who wants the bottle?"
"Let his mummy feed him," Sirius said as he settled the little boy in Anwen's arms and Eleanor gave her a warmed bottle.
"Call for me when he's done, and I'll help you get him changed," the medi-witch explained.
"Anwen's quite adept with infants," James explained. "She's my five month old son's favorite auntie."
"Ah, well then, the supplies are in the loo, as is the changing table. Just make sure to keep his belly button dry. We'll bathe him together tomorrow night, okay?"
"Thank you, Eleanor," Anwen said without taking her eyes from her suckling son. "We'll be fine." Sirius settled down with her and wrapped an arm over her shoulders.
Once their son was fed, changed and asleep, they talked with their friends for a few moments. James Patronused Lily, telling her the news and asking her to call Anwen's parents. Sirius decided to wait until morning to tell his mother and Louise. At not quite two in the morning, the young family was left alone. Neither parent desired any sleep, they were too enamored with the baby.
"He needs a name," Sirius said.
"He does." Silence followed.
"What are you thinking?" he probed.
"I know we talked about a lot of names, but..."
"But, what, love?"
"How about Bastien?" Anwen suggested. "It's an abbreviation of Sebastien, and it's commonly used in France. We'd be honoring her request, without giving her the privilege of naming our son."
"Are you sure?" Sirius solemnly asked.
"She's still a part of him," Anwen explained. "He will never know her, she'll never be a factor in his life; but she did give birth to him. Someday we'll need to tell him how he arrived here, the whole sordid mess. At least this way he has some tie to who she was."
"But what about you?" Sirius wondered. "You're his mum." He stressed each of the words.
"I am, in every way which will matter. I will be there to cuddle him, sing him to sleep, teach him to read and brew potions. I will brush away his tears, and frighten away the monsters under his bed. One day, I will tell him I loved his Daddy so much I wanted to bring him up as my own. She will never replace me, but at the same time, there's part of me who cannot replace her. I've thought about it since you put him in my arms. I don't need to shove the small part of her aside. He'll never wonder if his mummy loves him. I promise."
"Bastien it is. Bastien Caldwalder Black," Sirius announced proudly as he kissed his wife, overcome with love for her.
"Are you sure?" Anwen hastily asked when her lips were free. "I know we were thinking of using Regulus as a middle name."
Sirius shook his head. "It's too soon, his death is too raw for Mother and me. He looks like Reg, the dark hair and gray eyes. Mum might get confused," Sirius explained, thoughts of his mother's downward spiral coming to the forefront of his mind. "Anyway, we'll have more sons someday and one of them can share my brother's name."
"I think he looks just like his daddy," Anwen remarked. "Bastien Caldwalder Black it is. Welcome to the family, Bas." She stoked her sleeping son's head and began to hum to him in his slumber.
Sunday, February 15, 1981
Anwen held her six week old son in her arms, gently rocking him to put him to sleep. He'd had a busy day, and logged more miles than some people would in their entire lifetime. The day started at home in France, the family then Apparated to Anwen's family farm not far from Cardiff. They then drove the roughly ten kilometres into the city to attend the Methodist church of her mother's childhood, where Bastien was baptized.
After the service, there was a brunch at one of Anwen's favourite restaurants back near her parents' house in the hamlet of St. Fagan's. The Old Post Office was the place where family birthdays were celebrated, and thus held a place of honour for the young witch. After brunch, the Blacks went by Portkey to London, to speak with Louise Malfoy, Andromeda and Ted Tonks and Walburga Black regarding young Draco. Before the day was out, little Bas would go to Portree, Scotland and the Potter family estate before returning to his home in Quimper, France. The most interesting part; the baby didn't know he'd been in so many places. All he was aware of we're his mummy's arms around him.
"Louise, you've tried your best. We're happy to have him come live with us," Andromeda told the older woman. "You can come and visit him at any time. We've converted my old sewing room into a nursery and the guest bedroom is yours whenever you want to stay," she promised. Since Draco had begun rolling, it was harder to keep up with him. Coupled with the continuing descent of Walburga's health, it was too much for Louise.
Mrs. Malfoy looked at the woman, her face showing the conflicting feelings of relief and failure. She truly had wanted to be her grandson's caregiver, but it was simply too taxing. While Sirius had told her he would arrange for care for his mother, effectively removing the burden, however, Louise wouldn't hear of it. She'd rather have the rambunctious child go and live with his aunt and uncle than leave her dear friend. She thought there was value in having Draco be part of a family, with an older sister as well as parents. Andi and Ted were better prepared to care for a young family.
"Thank you," she said calmly, relief finally overtaking any other emotion in her face.
"I had always wanted to believe some part of my sister was still worth redeeming," Andi explained. "Bella, we'd lost her so early on. She was obsessed with power from an early age, it's ultimately what did her in." The middle sister was still playing her part, wanting to reunite her fractured family, trying to be a peacemaker when there wasn't enough of the fabric of her family to be sewn back together. "I held out hope for Cissy," she explained. "I hoped the redemptive grace of being a mother and caring for her own child might save what was left of her soul." Her voice broke near the end, the admission too painful to even verbalize. While Ted held her hand, Sirius stood up from his chair, knelt down next to her and put his arm around her shoulders.
"You can only save someone who wants to be saved, Andi," he reminded her. "In the end, she married Lucius and succumbed to his dark, warped world. That it destroyed her is not your fault." Andromeda leaned against her cousin and nodded her head against his chest.
"I wanted my little sister back," Andi explained. "We were so close as children, I didn't think anything could come between us. Now, what she and Bella did to you...I am so sorry..." she trailed off.
"Andi, it's not your fault," Sirius said plainly, emphasizing each word. "We're doing the best we can with the situation. We have a wonderful son. All of us, we're still a family; a little smaller than the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black once was, but at least we aren't as deranged either."
"This is true," Andi agreed with a small smile. "Speaking of Black's, you really didn't have to give me so much from Bella and Cissy's vaults. You should keep some of it. You have a baby to raise."
"We have plenty; don't worry about my finances, Andi. You deserve what you were given. I'll also arrange for you to have access to Draco's funds. He has two accounts, one for his trustee to use until he's seventeen and another which he will inherit when he's of age." Both Ted and Andi nodded. They'd given no thought to the expense of raising Draco, it wasn't of consequence. They would make ends meet, just as they always had. The last few years had been lean for them, being Muggle-born made it hard for Ted to find work in the Wizarding world and the Muggle world was in the throes of a recession. Their recent bequest from the estates of the Lestrange's and Malfoy's had changed their financial outlook for the better.
"He's also my sole beneficiary when I pass," Louise added quietly. "I've already signed Malfoy Manor over to him. My house-elves will remain on the property to maintain it until my death, when they will be freed. If, however, you would want to live there in the interim, the house could be yours."
"Thank you, but no," Andi said quickly. "My memories of being there aren't...friendly."
"Neither are most of mine, dear," Louise added. "Hence my living with Wally."
"Mummy," little Dora came running into the room, ending the conversation of finances. "Mummy, Draco's woken up and he's screaming." She had been given the 'job' of colouring in Draco's room and to alert her parents when he'd awoken. She'd done her job with the unparalleled enthusiasm of a seven-year-old. Andromeda rose from her chair in the sitting room to walk upstairs to the baby's quarters and retrieve him.
Dora's loud announcement had awoken Bastien with a start. Crying in his mother's embrace, Anwen was already shifting him around to comfort him and hopefully lull him back to sleep. Walburga heard the infants crying and called her son.
"Sirius, Sirius, I need you to come here," she beckoned. He was already standing and closed the few steps between where he had been kneeling next to Andromeda and where his mother was resting on the settee. Sirius sat near her feet, taking her hand in his.
"How can I help you, Mother?"
"Sirius, I hear little Reg crying, will you call Kreacher to bring him to me?" she requested. Her son closed his eyes, and withheld the discouraging sigh he was compelled to expel.
"Mother, it's not Reg," he patiently explained. "It's my son, Bastien. Anwen is rocking him."
"Oh," the woman responded, her eyes drifting down from her son's. "Where is my Reg?" Sirius couldn't contain his moan this time, acknowledging his mother's confusion. He steeled himself to explain the situation to her, again.
"He was killed, mother. Remember? It was in July of last year. It's February now," he attempted to prompt her memories to no avail. She was now looking through him, her mind retreating, somewhere safer. She did this whenever he mentioned his brother's death. "Kreacher," he beckoned, softly. The house-elf appeared with a slight pop. "Please take Mother to her room." The house-elf grabbed the woman's hand and they were gone.
Sirius looked at his wife and found she was shedding the tears he fought back. "I know love, I know," she whispered as she continued to calm her son.
"Your family had some interesting things to say today," Lily remarked as she was finishing up clearing the table from dinner. The Marauders alternated houses where they shared Sunday supper together. The five adults were around the table and Harry and Bastien were in the playpen in the corner. Thankfully, dinner was at Potter Manor this week, as the Black's had spent all afternoon arranging things for Draco and then discussing what could be done for Walburga.
"Yes," Anwen agreed. "I know the gossip at our wedding was our 'needing' to be married because we were going to be parents. Eight months later we are someone's Mum and Dad. The adoption part confused most of them. We were intentionally vague with everyone but my Auntie Eleri, she's my Ma's closest confidant. It was easier for Ma to have Auntie know everything. I say, let them whisper, their words don't mean anything."
"Auntie Eleri gave me an earful," Sirius added. "She was incensed by the idea of me stepping out on Anwen and was quite honest; if she could, she'd send me someplace where I'd be miserably alone."
"I'm sorry, love," Anwen muttered as she leaned toward her husband to comfort him. "She's always been protective of me. She is my godmother, you know."
"I know, and I don't blame her. Someday it'll all be a story we laugh about," Sirius added with a hopeful air. Anwen wasn't sure he really believed such a thing. Just because they were making the best of the situation, didn't mean the events of the last year would ever be something to regard light-heartedly.
"Before we start dessert," James interjected, "there's a small bit of business we need to take care of. Thankfully, as Deputy Minister of Magic, I can accomplish this at home." Everyone but Lily looked at him, puzzled. James rose and opened the top drawer of the sideboard and pulled out a parchment scroll. "This came across my desk on Friday." He then handed the scroll to Anwen. Lily had arisen and walked into the kitchen. While Anwen and Sirius read, she returned with her small copper cauldron.
"His adoption papers, really? I thought I couldn't file them until the forty-five days were over?" Anwen questioned.
"Yes, well, considering his godfather could circumvent some of the regulations and it is for the heroine of the Great Battle, things happened a bit faster than they would for just any witch."
"James, thank you," her words accompanied by happy tears.
"Well, then, I believe we should finalize this adoption. Anwen, if you'll please pick up your son and come over here next to me," he said, standing with the cauldron in front of him and Lily already pouring a potion into it. When Anwen was in place, with Sirius standing behind her, one arm around her waist, the other on their son's head, James began. "Winnie, your hand please."
Anwen presented her free hand and he pricked it with a silver, engraved, ceremonial knife. He pricked the end of Anwen's index finger, and then squeezed several drops into the cauldron. When enough was added, Lily touched the end of her wand to the mark, instantly healing it. They repeated the process with little Bas's hand, making him squeak in response.
Lily added another phial of potion to the awaiting vessel and a ribbon of mist rose from the cauldron, it's silvery-grey recognizable to all as Anwen's magic, seeing how she could make magic visible. A second tendril came up from the liquid, this one a strong, vibrant blue. This second band confirmed Bastien was magical. The two colours wove themselves together, then encircled the small family.
"What name is given this child?" James asked, already knowing, but needing to complete the ceremony for the adoption to be legal.
"Bastien Caldwalder Black," Anwen said proudly.
"By the authority of the Ministry of Magic for all of Great Britain, I hereby declare Bastien Caldwalder Black the son of Anwen Llyn Black and Sirius Alphard Black. May you always be happy and well-loved, little one." The misty cords dissolved into nothing and the ceremony was over. James picked up the athame and handed it to Anwen. She looked down and read the inscription.
Bastien Caldwalder Black, February 15, 1981
Given with love from James and Lily Potter
In honour of your baptism and adoption.
"You knew it would be today?" Anwen questioned her cousin before reaching over to hug him, the baby caught between them. Due to his squirming, the embrace was brief.
"I had hoped, which is why I didn't say anything. When the parchment arrived on Friday, I sent for the engraving. He can use it for potion making when he's older."
"Or, we'll buy him another one and keep this with his mementos," Anwen corrected, even as she was moving to hug Lily and then Remus.
"My thoughts exactly," Lily agreed before moving into the kitchen to prepare their pudding. The room had an even more celebratory feel to it as they enjoyed her mince pie.
Four days later, five very young boys were on the floor of the Manor's sitting room, four mothers around them talking. In many circles, what the women were saying would be considered gossip, but since they would take the information nowhere outside this room, they cheerfully engaged in it.
The baby boys: Neville Longbottom, Draco Malfoy, Ron Weasley, Harry Potter and Bastien Black weren't "playing" in a conventional sense, but they were associating in the same general area. The mothers thought of it as a play date. Ron was already up on his feet, cruising the room by holding onto furniture. The ladies were surprised when he suddenly summoned the coffee table closer to him so he could get to his Mum.
"Molly, does that happen often?" Lily asked. She'd seen small glimpses of Harry's magic, mostly summoning his toy dog - a gift from his godfather - to his crib at night. He'd never moved something as large or heavy as a coffee table.
"More often than I'd like," Molly confided. "When he grows into his magic... and I thought the twins were difficult to manage."
"They are! Your twins communicate in their own language," Anwen ruefully added. "They kept Sirius busy when we were minding last week. I was amazed at how well they work together when they want something. It took us quite a while to distract them both and then get Percy unstuck from the ceiling." A future offer of childminding of the Weasley children would be given strong second thoughts by the Blacks.
"They're copies of my brothers," Molly sighed.
"How are your brothers doing?" Alice inquired.
"Gideon is nearly ready to return to work, finished up with his rehabilitation. He's moved back to his own home, although he's still taking his meals at the Burrow with the rest of us. Fabian is settling in," she explained, getting sadder as she spoke of her paralyzed brother. "He hasn't embraced the therapy or the activities his healers would like him to participate in."
"It hasn't been very long," Lily said hopefully. "Perhaps he'll still come around."
"Perhaps," Molly replied with a tone which betrayed the sentiment.
Alice changed the conversation to something far more mundane concerning the children, and they were quickly comparing potions and lotions to deal with diaper rash.
"Oh, Draco, sweetie, no," Anwen admonished the blonde baby. "You can't chew on Harry's toes." She lifted her hand and gently moved the sitting Draco away from the lounging Harry and then directed a small nubby-backed dragon toy into his hands. Draco, irritated that the soft, squishy things he had been playing with were taken away moved from his bum to his hands and knees and crawled back over to where Harry was lying on the floor. This time he was happy to simply remove Harry's sock and stuff it in his mouth. Harry, not liking having his toes played with rolled over closer to Bastien. The mothers laughed at the situation.
A rush of wind from the Floo, and multiple sets of heavy footsteps surprised the women. Turning their heads toward the doorway between the sitting room and hallway, they were greeted with the grim faces of Frank, Arthur and Remus. The women were surprised by the group. Alice had informed the ladies of Frank's working upon her arrival, and while Arthur was usually at the Ministry, today had been a special meeting of the Council of Thirteen; the high council of the Wizengamot, made up of representatives of the thirteen oldest wizarding families in Great Britain. It wasn't too strange to see Frank and Arthur arrive at Potter Manor; however their coming at half-three, and the presence of Remus immediately made them all suspicious. Frank was holding a bit of parchment in his hands as he came to kneel in front of Anwen. Fear and anxiety wrinkled her young face.
"What's happened? Where is Sirius?"
"Anwen," Frank said, taking a deep breath, "there's no easy way to say this. He's with James," Anwen relaxed at these words, but only slightly, "at Azkaban."
"Why? What happened?"
"Felicienne, she killed herself this morning. Sirius and James went to claim the body and arrange a simple burial for her. She had no one else." Anwen nodded, her hand covering her mouth. While she had no love for the woman, she certainly didn't wish for her death. She had been used by Bella and Cissy as a pawn in their plan to steal the Black family fortune. Anwen looked into Frank's face, studying it.
"How? What aren't you telling me?" Frank took her hands in his, dropping the parchment onto the floor.
"We didn't realize..." he paused, seeming to steel himself against whatever memory was replaying in his mind. "Felli was an earth elemental. She broke apart some of the stone wall and sharpened the point with her magic. She slit her wrists. It was...there was so much blood." Anwen was shocked by his discomfort. He was an Auror, he had to have seen worse. When she broke his gaze, she noticed the bit of writing on the floor. Now she could tell it wasn't parchment, but rather a scrap of material.
It was a letter, addressed to her. It had been written in blood. She reached down and picked it up. The letters were fat, uneven and erratic, soaking into the fabric in inconsistent degrees. Anwen could imagine Felli dipping her own finger into the pools of blood which likely formed and then scrawling the letters on her torn gown, even as she was passing from life to death.
Anwen,
You stole everything from me. Sirius, my son, my happiness. Now I give you my life. I hope you never forget the pain you caused.
Anwen read the words, horrified by them. Angry tears swelled her eyes and flowed down her face, dropping onto the fabric, wetting it and further smearing the blood. She dropped the note to the floor.
Then she Disapparated away from the crowded room.
Anwen was sitting on a rock looking at Elizabeth Castle, pondering what it must have been like to live there when the castle was built. She heard the familiar pop of someone Apparating in and moved her head only the slightest bit, so she could see who had come to bring her home. She smiled slightly, but only slightly, at his presence.
"Ah, you were saddled with mind the gimp."
"I'm not here to mind you," he said as he climbed the rock, wondering how Anwen had gotten herself up to the top, seeing how he was struggling to get his foothold, and both of his legs were fully functioning. His puzzled face gave his question away.
"I flew myself up here," she said without affect. Remus hadn't seen her like this in years. Usually Anwen's emotions were in plain view. This, her seeming detachment, had him worried. Once he was situated on the outcropping next to her, he spoke.
"Sirius is -"
"Worried, how shocking," she added, nearly sneering on the first word. "I assume he's taking care of his son?" Remus bristled at the words. Never, even before Bas was born, did she ever refer to him as "his son". It was always their child.
"Anwen, that little boy -" she cut him off again.
"Was rightfully her child. I know by law and magic and love I am his mother, but he was her son first. I took him, without regard to what it might do to her. While it might have been the right thing to do for him, her blood is on my hands."
Remus chose not to say anything to her about how wrong she was. She didn't need to hear him say a word. Instead, he threaded his fingers through hers and watched the boats along the shore and the tide lapping along the beach. He'd long ago learned it was through silence he could be the most effective friend.
Jersey Island was one of the sunniest locations in all of Great Britain. The currents kept it warm, and even now in the middle of February, it wasn't unpleasant to be sitting along it's windy coast. Though she'd left without her coat, Anwen was now wearing her dark green cloak, wrapped tightly around her body.
The sun began to sink low to the horizon, and even the gulls which had been soaring and playing in the winds had gone to find their hiding places. Night would come soon, and without the warm rays to keep them heated, a chill would seep into their bodies.
"Anwen, I need to take you home." It wasn't a question, it was a statement, one to which Anwen nodded.
"Why did you come?" she asked, still speaking bluntly and without emotion.
"You didn't need to be smothered." Anwen snorted in response and then smiled. She leaned her head on his shoulder. They were quiet again. "It's not your fault."
"I didn't help it, though. Maybe if we'd waited to have me adopt him or if we'd figured out a way to let her be in his life..." the dam broke and she began weeping. Remus again was silent, instead wrapping his friend into his chest, his cloak going over to shield her from the world. She let it all out, and he chose to speak only once she had calmed down.
"Come on, your husband and your son need you."