Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I have no ownership over Harry Potter and its wonderful universe. I do own my OC's and story line.
Harry Potter - The Marauders Era
"The Princess Marauder"
November, 1978 - Autumn
"Have you written that dispatch order I asked you to for the Bicorn that's been meandering about in Shrewsbury?" Scamander urged as he waltzed into my temporary office. "I need to owl it to Mimbleton this afternoon before that poor creature eats anyone else."
I rummaged through the paperwork scattered over my desk in a frantic rush. After nearly three months interning at this department, I pretty much had given up on keeping everything organized. What was the point? Every time I came in the next day, everything was out of place again. Men were terrible creatures, honestly.
When I found the dispatch order, I quickly handed it to my boss. "That's it. Oh, and I've already owled that report about the Chinese Fire-Balls to the Chinese Dragon Research office. Also, I asked Goodwill to give me his totals of this month's dispatched ghouls but he's slacking off again, so if you really need them take it up to him because he doesn't give a sock about what I say."
Scamander flashed me a toothy grin. "Would you look at that – Mrs. Lupin running this division like she owns it. I have to say, I'm quite impressed by how well you're handling everything after such short period of time."
"Thank you, Mr. Scamander," I replied, chuckling faintly, wiping the sweat off my forehead.
God, my head was killing me today... and not only my head, but my stomach too. That lunch I had grabbed with Sirius was still tossing and turning in there, sometimes it would try to crawl back too. Thankfully it never did.
"Are you alright, Mrs. Lupin? You're looking a bit pale there."
I peered up into his kind and concern-filled eyes, blinking heavily. Wow, my eyesight was blurry.
"I'm feeling rather ill actually," I answered truthfully. "I think it might've been something I had for lunch... I should really stop eating at that place..."
Scamander's lips curled into a frown, eyeing me worriedly. "Perhaps you should go home early today. There's not really much more to do, you seem to have taken care of everything important already."
"Oh... but are you sure, Mr. Scamander? I wouldn't want to cause anyone any bother by leaving."
"Nonsense." He waved a dismissing hand with a tut. "Go home, dear. See if you get some rest, and we shall see each other next Monday."
I smiled tiredly. "Thank you, sir. Until next Monday then."
Before gathering my belongings, I wrote Sirius' a short note explaining the reason for my early departure, folded it into a little airplane and enchanted it to find him at Level Two, where Auror Headquarters were stationed. Then I took the lift back up to the Atrium.
"Have a nice weekend, Mrs. Lupin!" Eric, the security wizard, called out.
I flickered my hand over the shoulder. "You too, Eric!"
As soon as I Apparated home, the first thing I did was hopping into the shower to wash the sweat off my skin. I always ended up a complete mess by the end of a day's work. The offices at the Ministry were uncomfortably hot and stuffy. I spent half the time casting Cooling Spells on myself just to get by, and even then it wasn't enough.
A sigh escaped my lips as I scrubbed my hair with some lavender scented shampoo. I missed Remus... He'd been gone only a week but my heart was already calling out to him like crazy. Being apart was worse now than it had when we were younger because we had gotten used to always having each other around. Every night I missed the warmth of his body sleeping next to me. Every morning I longed to wake up to his handsome face and kiss those lovely lips.
I hope he's safe... I thought worriedly, climbing out of the tub carefully so I wouldn't trip. The last time it happened wasn't fun enough for me to want to repeat the deed. Although, Remus did enjoy laughing at my expense quite a lot... The devil.
My breasts really were bigger, I realized while looking in the mirror. Rounder and harder too, especially around the middle. Could I be putting on weight? As I turned to the side to examine my flat stomach, I shook that idea off. I looked exactly the same I always did since my sixteen years old.
Another wave of nausea hit me, followed by a dizzy spell that had me clawing at the sink in order not to lose balance. Alright, that wasn't normal. Food poisoning couldn't possibly causing this, there was just no way. If it was then Sirius would've had it too by now.
Suddenly, realization downed on me. No, it couldn't be...
Could it?
In a hasty haze, I pulled a towel from the cabinet, wrapped it tightly around me and left the bathroom with the bedroom in sight. The dark shadow that moved from around a corner stopped me. When I turned around and found someone standing behind me, I shouted bloody murder, waving my hands to send the person flying to the other side of the hall.
"Fucking Christ, 'Ro! It's just me!"
That voice was familiar. I opened my eyes, cringing at the sight of Sirius rubbing a probably sore spot in the back of his head with a scowl. Ups!
"I'm so sorry, Padfoot!" I sprung forward to help him to his feet. I brought a hand to his head, feeling the flesh under all of that thick hair for any possible bumps or worse injuries. Nothing. So I swatted him. "You idiot! You nearly gave me a heart-attack!"
"And you nearly killed me!"
"No one told you to help yourself in without a warning first!"
"Then why did you and Moony give me a freaking spare key?!"
"Yeah alright, you got a point there," I sighed, rubbing my temples. "Why are you here? Did you leave training early because of me?"
Sirius ruffled his hair, eyes closed. "Well, of course. Did you expect me not to when you wrote saying you were feeling ill? I'm supposed to be looking after you in Moony's..."
I peered up confused at the abrupt derail of sentence only to flush when I saw the way he was eye-balling me up and down. Instinctively, I made sure the towel was firmly in place, regretting it immediately when his attention snapped right to the hand on my chest. The room suddenly felt incredibly hot.
I cleared my throat uncomfortably. "Alright so," I started nervously, "you wait in the living room while I go get dressed."
"Alright," he said dumbly. He opened his mouth as if to say something else but then slammed it shut again before swiveling on his heels and heading downstairs.
Shaking my head at the strange occurrence, I locked myself in the bedroom and tossed the towel away. I grabbed my wand from the nightstand, placed the tip against my belly and murmured the incantation Lily had taught me last year. While waiting for it to light up, I changed into a pair of comfy pyjama bottoms and one of Remus' old sweaters.
It smelled like him – chocolates and books. I sighed, breathing in the lovely perfume. I loved it. The flash of light drew me back. My heart stopped.
"Oh my god..." I breathed, staring at the pink glow in shock.
I climbed down to the living room still in a state of astonishment. Sirius glanced up with a raised eyebrow when he saw me. "What?"
I blinked once, then twice, before breaking into a grin. "I'm pregnant!"
All colour drained from his face. "Y-you're w-what...?"
"Pregnant! Sirius, I'm pregnant!" I laughed, throwing my arms around his neck. "I can't believe it! We've actually done it, we've made a baby!"
"Y-you guys were trying?" His voice was shaky, I noticed. Oh, but I was just so happy, I couldn't care less!
"Yes! We've been trying since our honeymoon," I said, stepping back from him to sit on the couch. My cheeks hurt from smiling.
He copied me, the cushions tipping with his weight. "Merlin, 'Ro... isn't it a little soon for you two to have a child? I mean, you haven't even been married for a year!"
"Remus and I have been in love for long enough, the marriage was just a formality." I frowned at the lines in his forehead. "Aren't you happy? You'll get to be an uncle."
"You're not my bloody sister, Aurora," he hissed, surprising me.
I pursed my lips. "I never said I was, Sirius. I only meant an uncle in an affectionate sort of way, like James and Peter will be too. Why are you acting like this? I was the one who wanted a child."
"I can't talk about this." He sprung to his feet. "I think I should just go home and you should call Lily and talk to her about this because I really can't do it."
"Sirius!" I grabbed his arm before he could get his jacket. He stopped but didn't turn around. "I don't want Lily here, I want you. You're my best friend, there's no one else in the world I would rather share my happiness with."
"Don't say that. Please don't say that. I c-can't..." he choked, making a strangled noise from the back of his throat. "I need to go."
Before I could get anything out, Sirius Apparated, vanishing from my hands. I stared blankly at the spot where he once stood, jaw dropped. What the heck had just happened? Was I losing my mind? Or maybe he was the one losing it. Either way this was definitely not the reaction I had expected from my best friend when told about my first pregnancy.
Shaking my head, I picked up the old telephone sitting at the entry table, punched the phone number of Lily and James' new place and put the speaker to my ear. It rung a couple times before she picked up.
«"H-hello?"
She sounded hoarse, like she'd been crying. Alarms went off in my head.
"Lils, what's wrong?"
«"A-Aurora? Oh, Aurora! It's m-my parents... they died!"
I cursed under my breath.
The funeral was a few days later in London. It was a very simple and modest ceremony with an open casket and a mass led by a priest, followed by the burial. I helped Lily and James with everything, which didn't sit very well with her sister, Petunia, but after I threatened to transfigure her into a weasel she quit the nagging and went back to scowling next to her overly-huge husband.
Afterwards, we all went back to their flat.
"This one time," Lily said, gulping down a rather large amount of mead in a single swing, "mom decided to bake dad a birthday cake that she saw in a culinary show, but she was a terrible baker. The cake ended up burnt and she had somehow mixed up the sugar for salt so it tasted absolutely dreadful. But dad..."
She sighed heavily. "Dad ate it all, every single crumb. He always did... he said what mattered was the heart she'd put in it and he would never let that go to waste..."
James leaned in to kiss the crown of her head with a heart-warming love. "They were wonderful, love, both of them."
"Yes, they were, Lils," I reinforced that statement, placing my hand over hers. "And I am sure they'll always be watching over you no matter what."
She nodded, sniffing and wolfing down another glass after Sirius poured it. "I just wished they could be there for the wedding... I wanted dad to take me down the aisle..."
"Hey, I'll take you down the aisle, Lils," Sirius offered with a smile.
"But you're bestman..."
"So?" He shrugged. "I'll multitask. I'll take care of my bestman duties and take you down the aisle."
A mix between a chortle and a hiccup rolled from her lips. "That's very sweet of you, Sirius. Thank you... the both of you. I don't know what I would've done without you and James..."
"Aww, Lils!" I pulled her into a hug, giggling when James came up and wrapped his arms around us.
"My two favourite girls in the world in my arms, what more could a lad want?"
Sirius barked a quiet laugh, making his scotch disappear. "You're holding three people in there tonight, mate, though I don't know about it being a girl too."
"What?"
I bit my lip, watching the emotions play out on my friends' faces. Lily's eyes darted from mine to my stomach as I placed my hands over it affectionately. Her lips tugged into a dazzling smile.
"You're pregnant!" she cried, latching onto my neck so hard it nearly threw me off my chair. "Oh, Aurora, I'm so happy for you! Both of you!"
James laughed, eyes twinkling. "Have you owled Moony with the news yet? He's going to flip!"
"I want to wait until he gets back, I want to prepare a really romantic dinner and tell him," I said excitedly.
Sirius groaned, pouring himself another rather generous glass. "Spare me the god-awful details, will you?"
"Sirius!" Lily kicked him under the table with a glare. He flipped her off, downing it.
I rolled my eyes. "He's being a prick about this, says I'm too young."
"You are too young," he snapped.
"Oh put a sock in it," I shot angrily. "With all that shagging you did back in Hogwarts, you might be a father too and you don't even know it!"
"Oi, I resent that! I've always been careful in my shags!"
"Come on guys, don't fight," James pleaded, frowning. "This was a terrible day to begin with but Muzzle being pregnant is something to be happy about."
Lily nodded vehemently. "James is absolutely right. I'm going to be an aunt, that's definitely worth celebrating! Oh my god, Aurora, you have to let me throw you a baby shower! Please! It'll be so much fun!"
"I think I'm going to need more scotch, mate," I heard Sirius mutter to James.
Ignoring him, I launched on a very enthusiastic discussion with Lily about baby showers and clothes. If Sirius wanted to be a prick, fine. But he was not going to make me feel bad about wanting to bear my husband's children.
I know a lot of you already suspected she was pregnant, but still... it was cute right? I'm so excited for them to be parents!
