PART TWENTY-ONE
December 25, 1982, Woodsview, Oxfordshire, England

Harry let out a joyful shriek as he jumped up, trying to grab the Snitch he'd gotten for Christmas. It was specially enchanted to not go too far out of the reach of stubby arms. JJ meanwhile was on the toy broom he'd gotten, clapping his hands happily.

"Not in the house!" Remus sighed as both boys simultaneously nearly knocked over the tree. He grabbed them both up in his arms and pulled them into his lap. "Padfoot and I will take you out later."

Yuki covered her face with her hands. She was lying stretched out on the couch. "I can't believe you bought our son a broom. I had enough problems with Harry having one! And now the pair of them are going to be zooming around... They cause enough trouble on the ground!"

Sirius barked out a laugh, but kept rubbing Yuki's ankles, her feet resting in his lap. "Oh lighten up, Maeda. The broom only goes two feet off the ground and doesn't go very fast. Your fear of brooms is so daft."

"I stole my sister's broom when I was five. Broke three ribs, my arm and cracked my skull. You would be phobic too!" Yuki scowled slightly, even as Sirius's raised her leg to press a kiss to her ankle.

"Well, at least I managed to get you over your fear of dogs." He gave her a smile.

Remus looked up from where he laid flat on his back, both JJ and Harry crawling all over him, trying to show him the presents he'd already seen them open earlier that day. He smirked at the couple. "I daresay I'll let that one go without elaboration."

"You've got a smutty mind, Moony." Sirius turned his attention back to Yuki. "How's the whelp doing?"

"Very active," Yuki sighed wearily. She took Sirius's hand and led it to her stomach.

Sirius's eyes lit up at the sensation of his daughter moving. "If I didn't know any better, think you swallowed a bludger!" He leaned in and kissed Yuki's swollen belly. "Hey there, Nori. This is your da'. Next Christmas, I'm going to spoil your absolutely rotten. But only if you promise to only soil your nappies when Moony and Mummy are holding you and to never go on a date- "

"-With anyone like you?" Remus and Yuki finished for him in one voice.

"You two are getting along too well!" Sirius accused his companions. "And you!" He pointed to Yuki. "You went out with me and-"

"-And I ended up with two children out of wedlock," Yuki finished.

Sirius blinked and then went back to Yuki's belly. "Right then. Don't date anyone like your old man. In fact, I'd be very happy if you didn't date period."

"Happy Christmas!" Nymphadora tumbled out of the fireplace, dressed in a frilly elf costume. She was clutching a broomstick in her hands. She didn't bother dusting the soot off of herself as she ran over to Remus. "Look, Remus! Look!"

Ted Tonks followed soon after Nymphadora, dusting himself off as he emerged from the fireplace. "Dromeda will be along shortly," Ted said. "Isn't travelling by Floo. The soot will ruin the pheasant."

Sirius patted Yuki's legs and got up to give Ted a warm embrace. "Thanks for coming, Ted." He looked over to his family. "Feel like this is our first Christmas. Being on the run made things so difficult."

Andromeda apparated into the room, holding a very large pheasant in her arms. "Oh please, Edward... Don't help. I just love feeling like a common House Elf."

"I'll help," Sirius offered. "The least I could do, since you made up all this food. The rest back at your place? Take a load off, Ted."

Andromeda nodded and headed towards the kitchen. Sirius disapparated with a crack.

Ted sat down on the sofa next to Yuki. "How are you feeling there, Yuki?"

She scowled lightly as Harry placed his Snitch on her stomach and giggled delightedly when the golden ball flew off of it's 'starting mound'. "I'm am very much over the joyous miracle that is pregnancy. And if Sirius thinks we are having any more after this, I'm going to put my big Ravenclaw brain to work finding out how he can carry the next one."

Remus looked up from the broomstick Nymphadora was excitedly showing him. "I would help you research that, Maeda... I'd love to see it."

"You'd love to see what?" Sirius apparated back in, carrying several chafing dishes.

"Oh nothing," Remus demurred, turning his attention back to Nymphadora. "What that you were saying about the speed?"

"It can go up to one hundred and fifty kilometres an hour!" She wrinkled her nose. "But Dad's put slowing charms on it till I'm a bit older." She picked the broom back up. "But I can handle it! Oops! Sorry Sirius!"

Sirius tripped over the broom as Nymphadora picked it back up. It was only a quick spell from Ted that saved the dishes Sirius was carrying. He still hit the ground with a thump.

"Da boom!" JJ cried, laughing.

Ted held his wand high, levitating the dishes towards the kitchen. "I'll just take things in now."

Nymphadora was very red in the face. "Awful sorry, Sirius."

Sirius gathered Nymphadora in his arms. "Don't you worry on it, Pixie." He looked down at her frilly dress. "That is a lovely frock you have on."

Nymphadora wrinkled her nose. "Mum made me wear it. I wanted to wear the Muggle clothes you guys brought me from America, but Mum said it wasn't proper."

"Never gone much by proper 'round here," Sirius said, tickling Nymphadora and making her squeak.

Andromeda strode in and gave Sirius a smack upside the head. "And it's gotten you into nothing but trouble now, hasn't it?" She sat down in the easy chair. "Everything is all ready for dinner. I've got warming spells on it all. Should be wonderful."

Ted came in and sat back down. "Did you tell Sirius what you heard, Dromeda?"

Andromeda bristled, glaring at her husband.

"Tell me what?" Sirius stopped tickling Nymphadora and looked up at his cousin, question in his eyes. Nymphadora got up to run over to JJ and Harry, who were both chasing Harry's Snitch. "Please tell me there's not some other sort of catastrophe that's about to befall my family."

Andromeda seemed to consider what to say for a long time. "Well... I still receive Christmas cards from Adeline Bulstrode. She told me... Well..." She wrung her hands. "Your mother is ill, Sirius."

"That right?" Sirius seemed nonplussed by this news. He smoothly caught his son in his arms before he careened headfirst into the tree. Harry meanwhile, caught the wayward Snitch. "Watch yourself there, Pup. Maybe I should take you three outside for a bit." He rose to his feet. "You feel like heading out, Dora?"

"Sirius." Andromeda got to her feet. "I mean really sick."

Sirius grabbed Harry's hand and nodded to Andromeda. "Yeah, I understood you." He started towards the door. "Moony, you want to help me with the kids?"

Remus got to his feet. "Sure, Padfoot." He gave Andromeda a look, indicating that she should just drop the topic of Walburga Black. He knew Sirius too well. It would lead nowhere good.

"Why don't you try talking to him," Andromeda sighed as Yuki carved the pheasant. She and Ted were in the midst of setting the table for dinner.

Yuki let out a laugh. "I've been with Sirius for almost six years." She winced slightly. "...Well, sort of. I know that he doesn't get talked into doing anything. In fact, he tends to get talked out of things just out of pure spite. We row enough as it is without bringing up the topic of his mother."

Andromeda placed a plate onto the table, a bit firmer than she meant to and it clattered loudly.

Yuki shook her head sadly and went back to her carving. "I know why you're doing this, Andi. My dad was killed when we were in the middle of a fight." She bit her lower lip. "Actually, it was that he didn't like me dating Sirius. Tousan never got to meet him, just knew the family reputation. I told him I hated him. Before I got to apologize, the Dark Mark was over my house."

"And someone in my family put it there." Sirius had entered the kitchen, his hair windswept from chasing after the boys and Nymphadora on their brooms. "Don't know that for certain, but Bellatrix always liked sharp things and Kenji Maeda was killed for his weapon collection... Can you guess what turned up when the Aurors raided her home, Andi?"

Andromeda looked disturbed by this piece of information. Yuki gave Sirius a slap on the chest, admonishing him silently for his insensitivity.

"What?" Sirius asked sharply. "Andi knows what her sister is like. What all the members of our family are like." He looked to Andromeda again. "Your sister most likely murdered Yuki's dad just to get her bloodstained hands on some magical swords and knives."

"We're not talking about my sister!" Andromeda put another plate down very hard and this time, it broke. Ted waved his wand in order to fix it. "We're talking about your mother. And the last time I checked, she never took the Dark Mark."

"If she wasn't a crotchety old bitch, I'm sure she would have," Sirius intoned darkly. "Why are you pushing this so much, Andi? You got blasted off the family tapestry too."

"It's just..." Andromeda sighed once again. "Maybe I see things differently than you. You had pretty much stepped out of the family once you were sorted into Gryffindor. You left willingly. I was tossed out because of Ted. I loved my family, no matter what they were. Yes, even Bellatrix. She's still my sister, no matter what she became. I thought about going to see both my parents before they died, but I just couldn't get up the courage. I still regret it. They never knew they had a granddaughter... Maybe they would have scoffed at me, but they were my parents."

Sirius scowled deeply. "I wasn't even out the door before my mum had blasted me off that damn tapestry. She was happy to see me go. I'm not going to go crawling over to her just because she's dying."

"Sirius..." Yuki sighed.

"Thought you of all people would support me," Sirius sat down at table and sulked. "You know, my mum had a lot to say about you, Maeda. We started seeing each other not long before I left. Regulus being the good little boy reported it to her. Said if I ever brought you home, she'd curse you barren." He laughed bitterly. "Funny thing is, she didn't even know you were Halfblood. Being Asian was bad enough."

He got back up and stood behind Yuki, placing his hands reverently on her belly. "I've got enough family. You, the boys, the whelp, Remus, Andi, Dora, Ted... I don't need to be listening to my mum's garbage anymore."

Andromeda shook her head. "Sirius, Adeline wouldn't have mentioned it to me if she didn't want you to know. She says Walburga is lonely. Everyone else is gone."

Sirius rested his head against Yuki's shoulder. "I don't care. Now are we going to eat?" He moved away from Yuki. "Come on, kids! Dinner!"

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Tousan is Japanese for "father".

There is so disagreement on different guides as to the age of Andromeda's father and whether or not he is dead by this point. Some guide have him listed as being born in 1938 and dying in 1992. Others say he was born in 1929 and died in 1979. I went with the former because (1) It's on the Lexicon which I feel is the best guide out there. (2) This age makes him NOT 13 when Bellatrix is born. (3) It works better for the story to have most of the Black dead already. We have no birth or death dates for Druella, but it works better for the story if she's already passed.