Chapter 50! I can't even believe it…after a two (almost three) year hiatus and we are back at it. Only 35 chapters to go, hopefully you are all ready for it!
Nothing new from me, hope you all had a great week. Look for the next chapter early next week.
Read, review, and enjoy!
I hadn't talked to Sirius about Regulus since I walked in on him and James getting drunk that morning the article came out. I didn't want to press the issue and Sirius didn't bring it up. The day of his funeral, Sirius disappeared.
He said he just needed some time alone, but I figured he went to the funeral and hid near the back. He wouldn't want to be spotted, but I knew my boyfriend. He wouldn't want to miss his brother's funeral, despite everything that happened in his family.
He had been quiet the days following the funeral as well, but with his birthday coming up, James had found a few ways to cheer him up. Starting with visiting Madam Rosmerta for her famous mead. I wasn't sure I wanted to know what else they did on their boys night out- Remus and Peter tagged along with a few members of the Order- but they stumbled to the apartment near dawn, all of them collapsing on the floor and falling asleep.
I didn't wake any of them up as I flitted through the apartment getting ready for work. Not even a groan or a twitch in response to the noise I was making. It was quite impressive actually.
I wrapped a thick scarf around my neck, pulling my winter cloak on and tightening it around my chest. It was only a quick apparation to the pub, but I was opening the bar that morning and I knew that Ian hadn't put on any type of heat after closing down last night.
I apparated out of the apartment and to the pub, shivering at the cold, late fall wind that blew through Diagon Alley. Taking out my wand, I unlocked and opened up the door and passed over the threshold, shutting the door with a quick snap behind me. I flicked my wand toward the fireplace, creating a large, roaring fire that filled the pub with a warm bath of light.
I took off my cloak and scarf, hanging them both behind the bar. I took a quick glance around, rearranging the liquor bottles to fit to my liking. Then, I pulled up a barstool and sat down to complete the owl orders.
And I waited. And waited. And waited.
I never understood why Ian wanted to open up the pub so early, especially during the week. Customers rarely came in before three in the afternoon. It did give me time to get the owl orders ready, though, so I couldn't complain too much.
I took out my wand again, shrinking a bottle of mead and tying it to the owl in front of me. After writing the address onto envelope, I sent the first owl through window. I collapsed into the barstool once again, waiting for the owl to come back. Ian had yet to invest in more owls, despite our sudden boom in finances.
I rested my head in my hand and flicked through the latest copy of Witch Weekly, waiting for either an owl or a customer.
…..
There wasn't a single customer until five in the evening, meaning I had sat there for nearly seven hours by myself. Ian had come into the pub, setting up shop in the back room to take care of the inventory. Luckily, I had been able to finish all of the Owl orders and rearrange the butterbeers under the bar. I scrubbed the floors, dusted the shelves and wall decor, and replaced quite a few of the butterbeer spigots that hadn't been cleaned for some time.
Ian was shocked when he came in, saying he hadn't seen the pub that clean in a long time. He tried to let me go early that evening, but I shrugged him off. I could either stay at work and potentially make some money or sit at home, staring at the wall until Sirius came home from school.
The door swung open, banging against the wall. I peered up from my perch on the barstool behind the bar, having just finished cashing out a regular customer who came in every week night after work. Mary and Alice stumbled into the pub, shutting the door behind them and cutting off the cold, evening breeze. Mary plopped herself into the seat directly across from me, grinning widely.
"What are you two doing here?" I asked with a smile, folding the page of the book I had been reading and placing it next to the sink. "I thought you were busy with Order stuff after work today."
Mary shrugged her shoulders as Alice took a seat next to her. "I wasn't planning on going to the meeting tonight." She paused to lean forward and drop her voice to a whisper. "Nothing has been happening for MONTHS." She rolled her eyes, leaning back in the chair. "Did either of you get the note from Lily? Asking for everyone to come over? I guess her and James wanted to talk to everyone about something."
I nodded my head, flashing the envelope from my pocket. It was the only piece of mail to come in for me in the last couple days. I had only just remembered to read it a few minutes before Mary and Alice got there. "We still have some time." I glanced up at the clock, wondering if Sirius had gotten the message as well. "Do you two want a drink? Butterbeer?"
"Something with Firewhiskey!" Mary said, licking her lips expectantly. "Lots of Firewhiskey- work was out of control today."
I laughed, reaching down to grab a glass from the stack under the bar. I filled the bottom portion with firewhiskey before reaching forward to mix it with a couple of different juices. "Alice? Anything?"
"Oh, I think I'll just have water," she said slyly, leaning forward to grab a bottle of water from the under-edge of the bar.
Mary turned, scowling at her. "Why don't you want something to drink? You ALWAYS want something to drink."
Alice shrugged, twisting off the top and taking a large swig of water. "I just don't feel like drinking today! That's all!"
I turned my back to my two best friends to put some ice into the shaker, finishing the drink-making process when I heard Mary say: "what are you pregnant? That's the ONLY reason I can imagine you refusing something with liquor in it."
Alice said nothing, the silence after the question Mary posed was far too loud to ignore. I spun around, my eyes wide as I stared at her. Cheeks and ears pink, she took another sip of her water, still not saying anything. "No," I said slowly, a wide smile breaking out onto my lips, "you aren't saying you're..."
She grinned sheepishly as she set the bottle down, nodding toward me. "Just about 5 weeks along."
I dropped the drink I had just made for Mary, the glass smashing on the wooden floor, effectively spilling the liquor all over my knee-high boots. Mary screamed, throwing her hands into the air before wrapping them tightly around Alice's neck. My cheeks started to numb, the smile on my lips too wide for my face to handle.
"Wh-what happened?" Ian huffed out as he stumbled out from the back room. Breathing heavily, his hands on his knees, he gazed at us with a frightened stare, "is everything okay? I heard a scream."
I turned to him, the smile on my face still unmoved. "Alice is pregnant!"
Ian turned to her, breaking out into a smile of his own. "This is a good thing, right? You won't break into tears if I congratulate you?"
The three of us laughed, Alice nodding her head in response. "Yes, it is a very good thing. Not planned," she clarified, holding up her hand, "but Frank and I are very excited. I'm due at the end of July."
Mary smacked Alice on the arm, a look of false anger on her face. "I can't believe you didn't tell us right away!" she said, narrowing her eyes at our best friend, "way to leave it a complete secret for over an entire month!"
"We didn't know until 2 weeks ago!" Alice laughed, nearly spitting out the water she had just drank. "And I wanted to wait to make sure that nothing was going to go wrong with the first couple weeks."
"Well, despite Mary not being very happy with you," I teased. Mary stuck her tongue out at me before grinning widely. "I am incredibly excited to be a first time aunt!" I paused to take out my wand, cleaning up the glass and spilled drink off the wooden floor. "Aunt Haley. That's a title I can get used to!"
Alice glanced up at the clock before hopping out of her barstool. "Considering the cat is out of the bag, may as well head over to Lily's house so we can tell everyone else. I wouldn't want to hurt feelings by only telling a couple people."
I cashed myself out of the bar, handing everything over to Ian. It was going to be a particularly good evening for him, since the Owl orders were all done and there weren't any current customers in the bar. Grabbing my scarf and cloak off the peg on the wall, I apparated to Lily and James's house, closely followed by Alice and Mary.
...
My feet landed firmly on the front lawn of Lily's house. I stumbled slightly, only gathering my balance after I felt a sturdy hand grab underneath my arm. I looked up, surprised to see Sirius smiling down at me. "After these last couple years, I would have thought you better at apparation by now," he joked, leaning down to kiss me on the lips.
I scowled playfully at him, rolling my eyes dramatically. "And after all these years I would have thought you knew how clumsy I was to begin with. We only went to school together for seven years."
He leaned down to kiss me again. "I only knew who you were for one of them."
I couldn't help, but laugh. He grabbed onto my hand, lacing his fingers with mine. We followed Alice and Mary into the house, who were greeted at the door by a beaming Lily. We walked into the house, taking our shoes off at the door. Remus and Peter had already taken seats on the couch in the living room, sipping on hot coffee. The steam coming off the liquid reminded me how cold my hands were and I almost asked Lily if I could have a hot mug to warm them.
"Come in, come in, come in," Lily ushered us in, all but throwing us into the living room. Sirius collapsed into nearest armchair, dragging me down with him. I adjusted my hips, fitting snuggly in his lap. He wrapped his arms around my waist, resting his cheek on the middle of my back. "Does everyone need something to drink? No?" She hadn't even given us a minute to respond, whatever news she had was clearly very exciting for her.
"Calm down, Lily," James said with a laugh, trying to harness his wife's energy. He prodded over to me and pretended to sit in my lap for a moment. Sirius let out a bark of laughter as he kicked at his friend, sending him tumbling to the floor.
"I can't take it anymore! I've waited all day!" Lily said, bouncing up and down with excitement. She held out her hands in an effort to quiet the room. "Everyone, we have an announcement to make."
"For the love of Merlin," Mary started with an eye roll, slouching back into the couch, "please don't tell me you're pregnant too."
"Mary, you horrible cow," I shot at her with a laugh. She widened her eyes, clapping her hand over her mouth. I glanced back toward Lily, whose smile had slid off her face quicker than if someone had squirted her with stink sap.
"How did you know?" she demanded, crossing her arms over her chest, "James! Did you tell someone?! We promised we wouldn't tell ANYONE."
James, his mouth opening with gaping shock, quickly shook his head, not wanting to be on the receiving end of Lily's wrath...again.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," I started, pushing myself up from my perch on Sirius's lap, "did you just say you were pregnant?"
Lily turned to me, her eyes wide. "Well, yeah. Not much of a surprise now since everyone knew." She turned her glare back toward James, who had shrunk in his seat a bit. I glanced over to Alice, who was clearly trying hard not to smile. We couldn't hold it in any longer, both of us letting out a howl of laughter. "What the hell is so funny?"
Alice wiped the tears from her eyes, taking deep breaths to calm herself down. She walked over to Lily, grabbing her hands tightly. "Lily, I'm pregnant too. Five weeks."
Lily's jaw went slack before she broke out into a large smile, throwing her arms around Alice's neck. "Alice! That's so wonderful!" she took a step back, grabbing back onto her hands. "I'm five weeks too! We brought everyone over to finally spill the beans!"
I let out a cry of excitement, leaping forward to hug both of my best friends around the neck. "I'm going to be an aunt twice in the same month!" I said, wiping the tears of joy from my eyes. Alice and Lily both had tears forming in their eyes as well. "My two best friends are going to be mums!"
Sirius pushed himself out of his seat, hugging both Lily and Alice, before clapping James on the back excitedly. "This is the best birthday I could have asked for," he said with a giant smile. Remus, Mary, and Peter soon followed suit and the middle of Lily's living room turned into one big group hug.
