A Sirius Situation
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, places, spells, incantations, charms, potions, etc… in this story.
AN: Thanks to Nagini Crimson for the correct spelling of 'Moony' (I hope I spelled your name right, the site cut off the bottom of the thrid letter in the first word).
Chapter 7: Moony's Mate
Remus woke up in a strange mood, after be jolted awake by a particularly hard kick. He looked to his right to see the other side of the bed was vacant.
"Severus?" he called looking to the door.
No response.
Lupin could start to feel the panic rising in his throat. He threw the covers off, grabbed his wand and headed into the living room.
"Severus?"
Again, there was no response.
"Would Severus intentionally ignore me?" Remus wondered. It's not like the snarky Potion's Master hadn't in the past. Lupin could feel his jaw setting. If Severus was indeed ignoring him, there was one sure fire way to get his attention. It was crude, yes, but would definitely work in this kind of emergency.
"Hey, Snivillus!" yelled Remus.
BAM!-A door behind the werewolf flew open.
"How dare you use that name," growled Snape as he walked out of his office with a vial in hand.
Lupin spun around and all but pounced on, "Severus!"
"Unhand me, Lupin!" snapped Snape, who was still pretty peeved with the usage of his old nickname, "What has gotten into you!"
"I woke up and you weren't there!"
"I normally not there!" the Potion's Master pointed out.
"Well, yes…but…uh…" that was when Remus picked up on Severus' sandalwood aftershave Sniff, Sniff "You smell really good."
"Are you feeling quite sane, Lupin?" asked Snape raising a flawless black eyebrow and holding the seemingly deranged werewolf at arms length.
"I'm fine!" Remus huffed, "Merlin, there's gratitude for you! Don't worry, Sev, I won't concern myself with your whereabouts again!"
Snape breathed an internal sigh of relief, "Just hormones again," he thought.
"It's only eight in the morning, Lupin, why don't you go back to sleep for a few hours?"
"I'm not tired." said Remus casually, "I'll read until the house elves bring breakfast."
---
Dumbledore's Office
"This is most troubling," said Dumbledore once Molly had finished her report of Harry's irregular behavior as of late, "most troubling indeed."
Fawkes gave a squawk of agreement from his perch.
"I was wondering if you could contact Remus and send him over to the house sometime this week. Given his connection to Sirius, I think Harry would feel better talking to him," said Molly.
"I'll see what I can do." Albus assured her, "Although, it might take a few days. You see, I currently have Remus working on a special project with Severus and I don't know when he can get away."
"Their working on the project together!" questioned Molly, "Are you sure that's a good idea?"
"It's the best one I've had since I charmed my socks to hold an endless supply of lemon drops."
---
Percy's Flat
9 am
The fireplace in Percy's living room lit up with green flames and Draco stumbled through and began searching for the flat's renter.
"Percy?-Percy!" Draco called as he frantically searched the rooms.
Searching only took about three minutes before the Malfoy heir found his father's secretary asleep in bed.
"Percy, wake up! I'm really in the shite!"
"Penelope, will you make me the happiest wizard alive and become Mrs. Minister of Magic?" said Percy in fanciful voice to his pillow. Obviously he was still off somewhere, far-far away in dreamland.
"Dammit, wake up," Draco seized Percy's pillow raised it over his head and brought it down with gusto down on the sleeping Weasley's head with a satisfying-FWAP!
"AAAAhhhhhh!"
THUD!
A very startled Percy rolled out of bed and landed on the floor.
"Draco?" questioned Percy, squinting at the light that came in through the rip in the window shade.
"Who were you expecting? The upstairs maid?" asked Draco raising an eyebrow.
"I live in a flat. There are no stairs." said a still very groggy Percy, "Not to be rude but, why are you...Oh!"
"As much as it pains me to ask you: a Gryffindor and a Weasley, what am I supposed to do!" Draco asked melodramatically.
It took all of Percy's self-restraint not to roll his eyes and sigh. Rather he just asked, "Can I put some trousers on first?"
"Oh, sure…"said Draco looking around and spotting a pair of trousers on the bureau, "Here." The Malfoy heir threw them at Percy.
There was a pause as the two regarded each other.
"Why don't you go put some tea on while I get dressed?" suggested Percy.
"What am I, a house elf!" asked Draco indignantly, as he wrinkled his nose in distaste.
"Just wait in the sitting room," said Percy wearily.
---
Snape's Quarters
Well, as I'm sure you guessed, Snape went back to work in his office with the door propped open and Lupin read on the couch for about ten minutes before falling asleep.
Ever since the conception of the puppy, Remus and Moony had a much better relationship. Prior, Moony had wreaked havoc in Remus' subconscious. Remus would be having a nice dream about his Hogwarts days with the Marauders when all of a sudden the sky and all of his surroundings would go black. The faces of the teenaged versions of his friends would fade into the darkness, still laughing and smiling, frozen in time forever, only to be replaced by Moony's heavy breathing, glowing gold eyes and continual growling. When he was a little boy, Remus would cower in the darkness and cry, but after meeting his friends he set up a make shift campsite with a small crackling campfire, a sleeping bag, and a copy of his favorite book, although, now, with the puppy on the way, the two had finally been able to reconcile. They were still surrounded by darkness, but the campfire had been replaced by a modest fireplace with a hearth and the sleeping bagwith a red and gold upholstered, wing backed chair along with an oriental rug. On the hearth sat a picture of Sirius in brass frame.
Remus still read his favorite book, only now he was joined by Moony, who would stretch out in front of the fire on the rug and nap. However, this particular time, Moony was rather restless, adjusting his position every few minutes and glancing up at the hearth. At first, Moony's strange behavior had put Remus on edge, but he eventually decided the wolf's constant shifting was just his way of anticipating the puppy's arrival.
"Easy, Moony," said Remus smiling as he ran a hand over his stomach, "we still have a few months yet, just be patient."
The next thing Lupin knew, Moony had jumped up and snatched Sirius' picture from the mantel.
"Hey!" exclaimed Remus, putting his book down, "Give that back, Moony!"
A tug of war ensued between the two. Moony pulled at the bottom of the frame and Remus yanked from the top.
As they pulled, the image of Sirius began to run. The dye ran out of the frame and onto the rug.
Once all the ink had run, a new image began to appear.
It was an image of, "Severus!" Remus woke with start.
The picture frame became the book Remus had reading and Moony morphed into Snape, who had been in the process of taking the book off Remus' chest and putting it on the coffee table, so the lycanthrope could sleep more comfortably.
Remus stopped struggling and gently released the book.
"You dream about the wolf?" asked Severus intrigued, for once, with the werewolf's presence in his quarters.
"It's…uh…a little more complex then that," explained Remus politely, not really wanting to go any further in detail.
Severus would have pushed the issue further, but luckily for Remus there came a knock at the door.
Snape put the book down and answered the door. Upon seeing who was on the other he gave the disdainful greeting of, "Hello, Headmaster."
"Good Morning, Severus." said Dumbledore cheerfully with the ever present twinkle shining like a beacon from a lighthouse on a foggy night, "Is Remus awake yet I'd like to speak with him?"
The Potions Master opened the door wider, so Albus could see Lupin sitting up on the couch.
"Ah, good." said Dumbledore walking right past Severus, "I was wondering if you're feeling well enough to spend an afternoon at the Burrow."
---
Percy's Flat
9:10 am
"So you're saying, there's absolutely nothing I can do?" Draco said as he paced the length of the sitting room.
"At this point, no," responded Percy as he lifted his tea cup off its saucer.
"Can't I at least confront them about it?" asked Draco.
"No!" exclaimed Percy, choking on the sip of tea he just took, "Definitely not! Parents get very strange about that. I'm sure they have it all worked out when they're going to tell you and getting ahead of their plans would jeopardize your position. Trust me, it's happened to me enough."
"What do you mean 'jeopardize my position'?" Draco persisted.
"If you confront them ahead of time and accuse them of keeping it from you, you make yourself out to be a threat by arguing against their choice to have a baby in the first place. For all you know, they just want one of each and this whole baby thing really isn't a danger to you at all."
"'One of each'?" Draco was confused, always thinking of himself as the complete package as an heir.
"A boy and a girl," said Percy flatly.
"Oh," said Draco taking it in for a moment, "…I suppose I could see that. (sigh) What a relief. A girl will only require a dowry, all the Malfoy estates and wealth will still be passed on to me because I'll carry on the Malfoy name. Thanks Percy!"
With that Draco took a fist full of floo powder, shouted "Malfoy Manner" into the fireplace and disappeared in a surge of green flames.
Percy just stared at the fire place where Draco had just departed. "Talk about a one track mind," he mused downing the last of his tea and then apperating to work.
---
In a word: Disaster.
Molly Weasley had returned home to a disaster!
Her kitchen was in shambles. It looked like El Nino had thrown a party and forgotten to clean up.
The milk had been left out. At least a dozen eggs had somehow missed their mark and landed either on the counter on or the floor. Pancake batter had gotten all over the walls, floor and ceiling. Dirty measuring cups, cooking utensils and orange rinds, from squeezing fresh orange juice, littered the counter on account of the sink being over with, seemingly, every pot and pan the Weasley's owned. All piled on top of one another, the pots and pans took on the look of a metal Mt. Everest. And making it look all the more authentic by resembling the snowy peak was the light dusting of flour that cover covered the entire room.
At the table sat Arthur, Ron, Ginny, Harry and the twins, who had stopped in for a quick bite on their way to opening the shop. Along with the kitchen, they were wearing every ingredient that had gone into making breakfast. All six of them looked extremely pleased that they were able to prepare the meal themselves.
"Ah, Molly, your back," said Arthur cheerfully to his wide eyed and horror stricken wife, "are you hungry?"
"GET OUT OF MY KITCHEN!" the Weasley matron bellowed.
"Looks like the free handouts are over," said Fred to George.
"Never mind that, mate," said George grabbing is brother by the arm, as their younger siblings and Harry scattered, "RUN!"
Needless to say, that was the last time Arthur was ever left to prepare a meal.
