Hey guys! Sorry it's been a while since I did an update. I'm have to remember I have TWO stories that need new chapters put on it. I'm so used to it being one! Will try to be better about that in the future!
Thanks to all for your reviews! Some replies:
noamg: We don't know if Ted is short for anything. Ted can also be short for both Theodore or Edward. I kind of liked Edward better and thought he might be "Theo" if he was Theodore.
peruser: I think it might be six to one, half a dozen on the other.
m0ckingbird77: I do try to keep things original. What's the fun in writing something other people have done? (Funny, coming from a fanfic writer.)
Loireloa: I don't think Sirius is really reluctant to marry. Personally, I think he's already married, just without the paperwork.
Mrs Yaya: As you can see in this part, a lot of people are wondering that.
shuokage: Thank you! I will most definitely be continuing!
PART TWENTY-EIGHT
March 10, 1983, Lancaster, Lancashire, England
The delighted shrieks of three small boys emanated from the back garden of the Longbottom home as Harry, Neville and JJ were chased around by the bear-like black dog.
Yuki shook her head as she sat with Alice and Remus having tea. "Go easy on them, Sirius! You're about three times their size, you great mutt!"
The dog stopped his chasing of the boys to bound over to his lover. He put his paws up on the arm of her chair and leaned in, giving her a wet lick across the cheek.
"Gah!" Yuki pushed him away. "You have stinky dog breathe!"
He yipped at her and went back off after the boys. Yuki wiped off her cheek with her hand. "Think I might've preferred it when he was hiding it from me."
"He seems to be doing well though," Alice said thoughtfully. "Frank told me about his mother. Has he talked to her?"
Yuki shook her head. "Not a word. I think the only reason he was willing to give her a shot was the fact she was going to go soon and now..." She looked into the bassinet that held Noriko. "What's going through your Daddy's head, Nori?"
Alice rubbed her growing stomach. "And it sounded like things were going so... 'well' might be a strong word for it, wouldn't it? 'Less than horrible'?"
"Walburga Black is an awful woman," Yuki sighed. "But she's trying to change. Maybe she thought the only way Sirius would accept her was if she was dying."
"Or else she really has gone mad and her attempts to reconcile with Sirius are completely separate from her hypochondria."
Both Alice and Yuki looked at Remus blankly. He sighed. "It's a Muggle mental disorder. Hypochondria is the belief that one has illnesses they do not. They convince themselves they have a disease and cannot be swayed from it."
The girls seemed to consider this for a moment. Alice cocked her head slightly. "You know, that actually sounds very smart of the Muggles. Wizards should really try to do something with people's head problems."
"Still doesn't help Sirius," Yuki sighed. "You know, I actually think talking to his mother was a good thing. She might not be the most pleasant person, but she really seemed to be trying. And you know Sirius, if he really didn't want to see her, he wouldn't go."
The large black dog bounded towards his friends and transformed in mid-stride, becoming the handsome, lanky man once again. "Do you think you three ladies could quit speaking about me like I'm not even here? I know you think I need to go see her, but she's been lying to me."
Remus sighed and rose to his feet. He walked to Sirius, shaking his head. "You misunderstand me, Sirius. You say your mother is mad, but I believe she might actually have a mental disorder. She really does believe she's dying and she has reached out to you. It makes sense with everything you've said about the way she lives. She's given up on life. You are the only thing she has to hold onto now, Sirius. Without you in her life, she may very well die."
Sirius let out a low growl and looked away from Remus. He crossed his arms tightly over his chest and scowled.
"Padfoot?" Remus asked, worrying his lower lip and furrowing his brow.
"I'm thinking, Moony!" Sirius snapped, scowling deeply. "That's a hell of a lot of responsibility to have on my shoulders and I'm not too certain I want that woman to keep breathing."
Remus sighed. "She's your mother, Sirius."
Sirius' grey eyes raised to look over Remus. "She has a werewolf fur coat."
Remus was nonplussed. "Hardly surprises me about your mother. No matter what you do, you have to do something. You can't just let her sit in that house alone and make Aradia keep treating her for diseases she doesn't have."
"I know. I know." Both Harry and Neville threw themselves at Sirius' legs, hugging him tightly around the calves. JJ ran to his father and held up his arms to him. Sirius bent down and scooped him up into his arms. Keeping JJ in one arm, he reached down and ruffled Harry's hair with his free hand. "I'll come up with something, Moon." He forced himself to smile. "You know, mate, this really isn't what we should be focusing on today."
Remus sighed in aggravation. "Why not, Sirius? Why must you always put things off?"
"Because today isn't about me," Sirius pointed out. He looked down at Neville and Harry. "All right, boys... Like we practiced before."
"Happy birffday, Moony!" Neville and Harry said along with Sirius. The two young boys leapt at Remus and hugged his legs tightly. JJ threw his hands up in the air. "Moony!" he echoed after and leaned over so he could grab onto Remus' neck and pull himself into Remus' arms.
Remus couldn't help but smile at the hugs from the small boys. "Thank you so much, boys. That means the world to me."
Sirius glanced at his wrist, as if he were looking at a watch. "You know, I think it's just about time for..."
Frank exited the house, carrying a cake along with him. He was flanked by Andromeda and Ted, Nymphadora holding tightly to Andromeda's hand. All four of them were singing. Yuki, Alice, Sirius and the boys joined them.
Remus beamed as Sirius brought him over to the cake. He was grinning, despite the light blush in his cheeks. "You guys really didn't have to..."
"Of course we did!" Andromeda exclaimed.
"What are you even doing here?" Remus asked, shaking his head in amazement. "I thought Nymphadora had swimming lessons."
Nymphadora hugged Remus tightly from behind. "I told Mummy I wanted to be here for your birthday, but Frank wouldn't let me carry the cake."
Sirius let out a chuckle. "Probably a good idea with all of the work he put into it," he teased Nymphadora. She glared and gave Sirius a weak punch. He shrugged it off and ruffled Remus' hair. "Come on Moony! Blow out the candles already!"
Remus leaned in and huffed out a breath, extinguishing the flames. He sighed happily and looked over his friends.
"So what did you wish for, Remus?" Sirius asked.
Remus smiled softly. He reached down and stroked Harry's hair. "I already have it."
Later that evening, Remus was alone in his bedroom. His quill worked quickly over a parchment as he scribbled out a line he had written.
Sirius swaggered into the room, carrying with him two glasses of scotch and an envelope. He set one down on Remus' desk and sat down on the bed. "Well, I finally got those boys down. Terrors, the pair of them."
"They take after their fathers," Remus replied, not looking up from his work. "Yuki still with Noriko?"
"Mm." Sirius nodded, taking a sip of his drink. "Remus, do I need to remind you that it's your birthday and you shouldn't be working?"
Remus finally looked up from his parchment, pulling his glasses off. "I have a deadline, Sirius. Mr Cuffe is a friend of my father's and he said I can do some articles for him. I can't let him down. None of us have worked in over a year..."
"We're doing fine, Remus," Sirius pointed out. "I have Uncle Alphard's gold and Yuki and I socked some Galleons away during the war. Didn't really have time to spend what we were earning in the Ministry."
"We have three kids to take care of, Sirius!" Remus pointed out.
Sirius stared down into his glass. "You know, it's not really your responsibility, Remus." He held up a hand when Remus started to protest. "Not that I'm not grateful for everything you've done. You're a member of the family. But James and Lily gave me responsibility for Harry. And JJ and Nori are mine straight up."
Remus' brow furrowed deeply as he shook his head. "I don't understand, Sirius. Do you want me to leave?"
"Of course not!" Sirius exclaimed. "You're my brother, Moony. Don't know what I'd do if you weren't around. But it can't be your dream to just be an Uncle to my kids and write the occasional Prophet article. When we were on the run, when things weren't stable... It was a lifesaver to have you around. But now that we're safe here... What do you want to do, Remus?"
Remus turned away from Sirius. "If you want me to leave, Sirius, just tell me."
"Dammit, Remus!" Sirius got to his feet. "That's not what I'm saying at all! We keep on having serious conversations about my life, can we just please have one about yours?" He turned Remus to face him. "You- Remus John Lupin- are about the smartest person I know. And please do not tell my Ravenclaw girlfriend I said that! I know you've had a hell of a lot of things you wanted to do in your life. And none of those things were fight in a war. But you did it anyway, because you felt it was your duty. You dropped out of University to do so and I know it gutted you. Now, the war is over, we're back home... And you're staying here, essentially being a nanny to my kids. I want to see you get out there." Sirius raked a hand through his hair. "I'm bollocksing this up pretty badly. I think you should go back to school, Moony."
Remus let out a laugh, shaking his head. "Going to Muggle University was an utter waste of time, Padfoot. You guys were always taking the mickey out of me for doing it."
"We took the mickey out of you for doing anything," Sirius pointed out. He shook his head. "Truth is, all three of us were proud of you, doing that, even though it wasn't what was expected. Never wanted you to have to drop out to help in the damn war. You wanted to keep studying languages at school, get your degree, be able to go out and find creatures all over the world no one had ever heard of before! Come back and teach! You shouldn't give that up, Remus."
"We lost James, Lily and Peter," Remus said softly. "I can't leave you and Yuki and the kids."
Sirius shook his head. "I'm not saying you have to, Remus." He held out the envelope he'd brought with him. "Live with us, but don't live for us. You have to do your own thing."
Remus accepted the letter from Sirius. He opened it and quickly scanned the contents. He shook his head. "I don't understand."
"It's a letter accepting your re-admission to Oxford," Sirius explained. "I sent in a request. You were a brilliant student and everyone knew it. I was even able to get some of your old Professors to write letters of recommendation for your re-admittance. Your tuition's already been paid up. Exchange rate between Wizard and Muggle money is good, so don't fuss about it."
Remus smiled, but shook his head. "Sirius, this is..."
"Don't you dare say 'too much'," Sirius said sternly. "You gave up your entire life to follow me around the world trying to take care of Harry. This is the least I can do."
Remus continued to stare at the letter Sirius had given him. "I can't accept this, Sirius..."
Sirius shook his head fiercely. "No, you're not going to do that to me, Remus. If you don't want to go, fine. My bad. But if you want to go- if you really, honestly want to finish school- then accept it with a smile, or else I'm going to have to punch you."
Remus refolded the letter reverently. Finally, he nodded. "Thank you, Sirius."
Sirius grinned. "That's more like it." He raised his glass. "I didn't want to have to beat on you until you agreed."
Remus finally lifted his glass and held it up, clinking it lightly with Sirius'. "I greatly appreciate that we don't have to go to such extremes." He took a drink. "So, Padfoot... Now that we've got me, settled, what are you going to do?"
Sirius looked towards the door. Yuki was standing by it, in Sirius's Hobgoblins t-shirt. "I've got Noriko down for bed," she said, smiling softly. "I think I'm going to head to bed myself. You coming?"
Sirius glanced to Remus. Remus gave a nod and Sirius leapt to his feet. With great ease, he scooped Yuki up into his arms. "Night Moony!" He called out, carrying his girlfriend towards their bedroom.
Remus laughed and shook his head. "Guess you aren't doing too badly on your own."
