Eeek! I'm so excited for the arc of chapters that follows this one, guys. One word: Marauders. :D SO AN EXTRA CHAPTER NOW BECAUSE I CAN'T WAIT TO GET TO THEM AND THE FORMATION OF THE ORDER AND ALL THAT NONSENSE. BABY SIRIUS, YOU GUYS.

BABY SIRIUS

15 October 1969

"And I swear, if I have to give those boys one more detention—"

Meg laughed, sitting down awkwardly at the kitchen table in hers and Robbie's home; she was nearly seven months pregnant with their second child. Minerva herself held John, her eleven-month-old nephew, who was squirming in her lap. She caught his chubby hand as he reached for one of the rice bundles they—she, Meg, and their new sister-in-law-to-be—were tying up.

"Sounds a bit like Malcolm," said Kate Cauldwell, the tiny blonde witch that Malcolm would be marrying the next morning. "He used to drive my friends mad when we were at Hogwarts, they never understood how I could stand him."

"Malcolm was—well, he was something, but the Prewett boys are a different level," Minerva insisted, bouncing John as he gurgled happily at her. "Looking at them, you'd never believe their—"

"—older sister was Head Girl," laughed Kate and Meg in unison.

Minerva pressed her lips together and looked down at John, who had stuffed his fingers in his mouth.

"Ooh, we've gotten Minerva's look, Kate. Best behavior," Meg said seriously, sitting up straighter as she tied another silk ribbon around a bag of rice.

"Right," said Kate, trying to hide her smile. "Sorry, Professor."

Minerva rolled her eyes. "All right, all right," she said, getting up and carrying John over to his high chair, which sat in the corner. She dragged it over to the table and flicked her wand, depositing some sliced apple on the tray. "Two of my closest friends, just making fun of me, I see how things are."

"Just a little," Meg teased, smirking at her.

For several minutes, they all busied themselves with sorting and tying off the party favors. Then, Kate got up and went to the kitchen window, looking out at the rainy autumn night. Meg gave Minerva a knowing smile. "All right there, Katie?" she asked, leaning back in her chair and patting her belly.

Kate smiled and looked back at them. "I…was just thinking. I can't believe it's tomorrow," she said.

"Don't worry, it's not too bad being married to a McGonagall," said Meg, and Minerva laughed. John squealed suddenly, and Minerva reached out to him, letting him grab her finger. "You've got a way with him, Minerva," said Meg mildly.

"Well, they can't break curfew and drive me mad when they're this size," she laughed, tickling the baby's side. He giggled shrilly.

"Oh, you'd be a great mother," Kate said brightly. "Haven't you ever thought about it?"

"Kate," Meg admonished, as though she didn't think this was a polite thing to ask.

Minerva hesitated for a moment. "I have…but it's much easier when I can just hand them back to you," she laughed, though she avoided looking directly at Kate. "Don't worry about me," she said, shaking off the unease at last.