Chapter Twenty-One
Mycroft and Anthea left for London that night. "I've been gone for a day and a half already," he pompously reminded his mother. "The catastrophes that would occur should I stay any longer do not bear thinking."
Sherlock and John were called back to London the next morning. Lestrade needed their expertise for a case, so with a kiss to their women and children, they Apparated back home, much to John's very loud protestations. The rest of the house party stayed through Boxing Day, allowing the children to play with their new, adoring uncles for one more day.
"Children are exhausting," Remus complained, though the smile on his face belied his words. Both children were down for a nap, and both men looked as though they might need one, as well.
"You ladies are amazing, caring for them all day the way you do," Sirius added, a hint of his former flirt coming through for the first time.
"Caffeine helps," Violet grinned back at him.
"As does wine," Mary deadpanned, causing the room to roar with laughter.
Everyone settled back into their various previous pursuits, allowing a quiet peace to pervade the room. As peace hadn't been a common commodity in her life, Violet reveled in it. But, as she wasn't terribly accustomed to inactivity, her mind soon began to make plans. The wedding took precedence, of course, with the various other aspects of life that it would change following on its heels. "Sirius, have you straightened out your vault yet?" she asked slowly.
Sirius shook himself, much like his other form's self, to rouse from the light stupor he'd fallen into. "No, Remus and I came straight here from St. Mungo's. I haven't the chance to go so far."
"We could go tomorrow, if you'd like," she offered. "I've still got to have my vaults combined, and should probably combine them with Sherlock's. And Mary, we really should get a vault for you Watsons. After all, Rosie will need it when she goes to Hogwarts."
"What makes you think she'll be going to Hogwarts? After all, isn't there a perfectly good school you told me about in France?" Mary asked, brow furrowed in confusion. Then, as three of the room's occupants stared at her in horrified awe, she let out the laugh she'd been withholding. "Of course, she'll be going to Hogwarts. She'll throw a fit to try and go with her Ree three years early." Her audience relaxed with smiles. "But you lot have your own money? You can't use a debit card?"
The magical people shared an amused laugh. "Remember how we've talked about how backwards the wizarding world is?" Violet began, and Mary nodded. "Well, we do have our own sort of money, galleons, sickles, and knuts, so you'll have to convert yours over."
"A few of the more modern establishments are starting to use something that's a bit like debit cards," Remus added. "But instead of electronically removing the money from your account to the store's, it'd done with magic. Gringotts, though, does have an ATM for Muggle families to get cash out for exchange."
Sirius chimed in with, "And then there's the old families who've always been able to buy on credit. Until I ran away, I never had to carry any money with me, except on the train to Hogwarts."
"And then the Potters became your legal guardians, and you never had to carry money after that, either," Remus pointed out wryly.
"I know for a fact that Euphemia had accounts in every store in Hogsmeade for all four of you, Remus Lupin," Cecelia said, leveling a wry look of her own at him. "Especially after she learned of your condition. She loved you boys as if you were her own, each one of you."
Remus hung his head in mock shamed humility. "So, we're going to Gringotts tomorrow, yes?" he then changed the subject cheekily. It was quickly decided that they would meet Sherlock and John, if done with the case, at the Leaky Cauldron the next morning. Then, they proceeded to fill in Mary on the goings on of Gringotts and what she could expect, i.e., goblins and even a dragon or two.
…
It was an exhausted John and a grumpy Sherlock that that met them at the pub, though both men managed to smile for the children. "The case isn't going well, then?" Violet asked, pressing a swift kiss to Sherlock's cheek. That brought another smile to his lips.
Though John's answer stole it away again. "No, we solved the case. Twenty minutes ago. But we had to work with Donovan again, and she… needled Sherlock a bit."
"What did that whor-rible woman say this time?" Mary hissed.
"I could turn her into a toad, and no one would ever notice a difference," Violet said. Her tone was so conversational, no one would notice she was upset, until they happened to see her hand tightly gripping Sherlock's.
"She said nothing that bears repeating." Sherlock's deep tone told Violet that she needed to speak with John later to find out exactly what Donovan had said. In order to best plan her revenge, of course. "Now, Harry, are you ready to see Diagon Alley? It's spectacular," he told the boy, who nodded enthusiastically. Though that might have been because Sherlock was saying it. Harry still took his every word as gospel.
Both children were situated on shoulders, it was easier than trying to keep hold of tiny hands, and the group made their way to the back of the pub. Remus tapped the correct brick on the wall, which then melted into a portal into the magical world.
Violet enjoyed watching her friends in their wonder as much as she did the children. She and Sherlock had done a bit of magic in front of the Watsons, and they'd been fairly immersed in it that weekend, but nothing really compared to the glory that was Diagon Alley. Here, shops announced every possible magical item for sale, and the displays themselves were a draw to the eye, colorful flashes and sparks mingled with loud pops and bangs.
"That's where we'll get your books for school, children," Remus said, pointing out Flourish and Blotts.
"And here's where we got your brooms, kiddos," Sirius added, dragging them to Quality Quidditch Supplies.
"And Slug and Jiggers is where you'll buy your Potion ingredients," Sherlock said, taking the lead, his height giving him the advantage over Sirius.
"Sugarplum's has the best chocolate outside Hogsmeade," Remus interjected, using his height over Sherlock.
Sirius, doggedly determined, headed to Gambol and Jape's. "I'll teach you all the tricks your dad and I used to play on ol' Moony," he grinned.
Violet sighed, watching as the boys fought, nicely, over what to show Harry first. "This could take a while," she told the Watsons, who hadn't moved much from the entrance to the alley. "But, Harry seems to be enjoying himself," she added, noting the grin that covered his face.
Mary started to say something, but a high-pitched "It's Harry Potter!" had Violet moving faster than any Auror's spell. Sirius and Remus tightened ranks, and Sherlock pulled the boy down from his shoulders, now cuddling him to his chest. The woman who'd recognized Harry had drawn a crowd to them, and Violet had to shove several people to get to her boy.
"Harry!"
"Harry Potter!"
"It's so nice to see you, Mr. Potter!"
"I'm just delighted to see you!"
More and more accolades came Harry's way, frightening him deeply. He burrowed into Sherlock's neck, causing his little glasses to dig into both his nose and Sherlock's jugular. Sherlock did nothing to dissuade him, instead, holding him closer and glaring at the crowd around them.
"He's just a little boy!" Remus shouted angrily, and Sirius pushed an overeager man back.
A particularly nasty jinx was forming on the edge of Violet's mind when "Break it up! I'm an Auror, you cow, so back off! He's a boy, not something to gawk at! Leave him alone!"
Never had Violet been so glad to see Alice Longbottom before, with the possible exception of when she'd thought she may have been too late to save the Longbottoms from her own deranged husband and his family. Alice's tiny frame shook with anger as she clung to both a tiny boy's hand and her wand. Her presence, and authority, had the previously eager crowd scurrying guiltily back to their own business. "Go on, leave them alone," she told the Watsons, who had just made it to the rest of their group.
"They're with us," Violet explained. "Thank you, Alice, so much. I was about to land myself in Azkaban, so thank you."
"You weren't the only one," Sirius added darkly.
"Between Madame Bones and Mr. Holmes, I think you would have been fine," Alice chuckled and picked up her son, before turning her attention to the other boy. "Are you alright, Harry?"
He nodded, though refused to remove his face from Sherlock's neck. "There's someone here who'd like to meet you, Harry," Violet said, rubbing the boy's back lovingly. "And he's just your age," she added conspiratorially.
That got his attention. Harry pulled back, sitting in Sherlock's arms as he rubbed his red eyes, his glasses pushed up to his forehead. His gaze quickly found Alice's son. "Hi, I'm Harry," he said softly, still a bit affected.
"'M Neville," was the mumbled reply.
"Did you know, Neville," Alice began, love and adoration oozing out of her every word, "that you and Harry used to play together as babies? And you're almost exactly the same age."
"That's right," Sirius said, trying to bring back a smile to Harry's face. "Neville was born one day, then Harry the next."
"It was at a very sad time, but you boys brought us so much happiness," Remus added, a small, reminiscent smile coming out.
"Why don't we see if Fortescue would mind us coming in a bit early?" Sherlock suggested tightly, leading the way to the ice cream parlor.
Florean Fortescue was a bit surprised to see such a large group on his doorstep two hours before he normally opened, but once he saw Sherlock, he gladly let them in. "Anything you want is on the house!" he exclaimed, only the smallest of double takes when he saw it was Harry in Sherlock's arms.
After plying all three children with ice cream, they each calmed down and began talking with one another. Harry introduced his Rosemud to Nubble, as he christened Neville, and soon, they were well on their way to becoming friends. Although Neville was far quieter than Harry or even Rosie, none of them seemed to mind. And he did seem to open up the more they talked together.
"So, Sherlock," John started with a smile, "what did you do to help Fortescue out?"
"He got Fortescue's nephew cleared as a Death Eater," Violet answered instead. "It was all over the Daily Prophet."
Everyone looked to her, though Sherlock was the only surprised one. The rest seemed more amused than anything. "How did you know it was me? The Prophet never mentioned my name. That was my stipulation with the Fortescues."
"If you don't think I can recognize your handiwork, even through newspaper articles, you need that head examined," Violet shot back.
Sirius barked a laugh. "I know a few different Healers. I could recommend you to one."
Sherlock's answering glare would have felled a lesser man, and had done so to several, but Sirius simply smirked more. "Florean's been rather accommodating ever since," he said coldly. "Free ice cream whenever I come in."
"Which hasn't been nearly often enough for me to repay you," Fortescue said, bringing the adult's ice cream to the table. "Now, you lot can stay in here as long as you like. I don't mind opening a bit later than usual this morning, if needs be. And if anyone needs a refill, just give us a shout." Then he went back inside his office, leaving them with plenty of privacy.
AN: And here is the next chapter! I had a lot of fun writing this one, especially Sherlock, Sirius, and Remus fighting over what to show Harry first. I laughed so hard when I realized that Remus is 6'2" to Sirius's 5'9.5". And then I realized that Remus is even taller than Sherlock, which just made everything better. I love that mental image! And I couldn't resist the dogged pun. It was a necessity. I hope everyone loves some happy fluff, with a bit of angst, because we're getting into some real action-y stuff soon. It only took twenty-one chapters of exposition to get to the real meat of the story :) Anywho, thanks for reading, especially for those who follow and favorite. And a huge thanks to those who review. Reviews are love!