Chapter 10:

Group

Friday, February 11, 2000

Remus and Marlene Lupin's home

Marlene McKinnon Lupin had always been someone you could open up to, and Junie appreciated that right now. While she loved Lily like a sister, Lily could also be opinionated and quick to make pronouncements, at least around her friends. On the other hand, Marlene was generally softer around the edges, gentler in her tones, and more patient. She'd pulled her long dark-brown hair into a high ponytail, and her blue eyes twinkled as they worked together.

"So, dish," Marley asked Junie as they sat in the kitchen, shucking peas. Yes, they could have done it magically, but doing it by hand gave them a reason to be alone in the kitchen while the men were doing whatever in Remus' study. Marlene was sure it involved the bottle of Firewhisky Sirius had brought with him. Kindly, he had also brought two bottles of wine to go with dinner, and the brand and vintage made Junie smile when he removed it from the bag he was carrying. Marlene noted that he'd not shrunk it and stuffed it in his pocket. He had arrived with Junie, and they were both all smiles and holding hands at their arrival. This was the first time Junie was present for the monthly dinner the Marauders had with their wives. "How are things, really?"

"Surprisingly amazing," Junie admitted. "We talk almost every night for at least an hour, sometimes longer. We like to go to my house and watch movies. Sirius enjoys sci-fi. Just like my dad. We've even had dinner with my dad, and all things considered, it went well."

"I could care less about what you two talk about," Marley said. "Tell me about kissing. Does it curl your toes?"

"Yes, but isn't it weird for you to talk about it? I mean, Sirius told me about when you got Remus' name and –"

"All of that was weird, yes, but it was a long time ago, we were all open about it, and twenty-two years later, it's a blip on my life. Sirius was kind and gentle with me and my heart then, but nothing compares to my kissing my husband. The first time Remus kissed me, I felt like I was going to float away."

"Exactly what I keep saying. I feel lighter than air, but also like I want to explode like fireworks. I can't even imagine what it will be like if we were to do…"

"Junie, honey, do you need to have 'the talk' again?" Junie turned a lurid shade of red, dropped her peas into the bowl, and hung her head.

"Obviously, I have a complete understanding of the machinations of intercourse. I don't know…You know that I've never been with a man, right?"

Marley put aside her bowl, waved her wand at them both, and left the peas to shuck themselves. "I know, honey, and I don't doubt you're anxious and apprehensive. What have you and Sirius done? I bet he's ready to go."

"I don't think he is," Junie professed. "We snog, often. We lay down on my sofa while a movie that we've lost interest in is playing, and we kiss for languid hours. I love how his muscles feel under his shirt, especially along his abdomen. He's brushed the side of my breast, but I've had first dates try to do more than that."

"Hmmm," Marley said. "That doesn't exactly sound like Sirius. I mean, you know he'd had hundreds of girlfriends –"

"It hasn't been that many."

"I don't know. He seems to have had a new one as frequently as I did the laundry for a while there."

"Yes, he told me that in the eighties he was a serial dater. I was there too, remember."

"Then I'm not insinuating anything you don't already know. I'm not telling you anything you don't know."

"I was. I also know how many women he's been intimate with, and the number is lower than you think."

"You know! Wow, I wasn't sure he'd tell you that. Double digits?"

"No. I can tell you the only one he regrets is you, and only because of the mess it created." Marley looked at her oddly.

"That's almost sweet. I don't usually think of him as sweet."

"He's charming, Marley. He sends flowers for my room every six days, so I always have fresh ones. Most of the time, they're daisies, which I love. But sometimes he sends a message by the flowers he sends. Purple roses because I enchant him, honeysuckle because his affection is devoted, and just yesterday, he included hydrangeas because my loveliness charms him," Junie said, lifting her hand to run her fingers through her hair. Marley grabbed her wrist and looked at it.

"Juniper Meadows, when did you start wearing jewellery?" Marley looked closely and saw a pair of matching diamond studs in her friend's ears and a delicate necklace with her initial floating on a gold chain. "Diamond jewellery on top of it."

"Sirius gave me the bracelet as a birthday gift for our first date. The earrings were for the one-month anniversary of our first date. The necklace I've had since my seventeenth birthday, it's from my da. I didn't wear it often because it wasn't a good birthday. I was sad about not getting a name, even if I didn't show it."

"Wow! If he's giving you stuff like this just because you go out with him, can you imagine what he'll do when he proposes?"

"Marley, I'm not ready, I'm not even sure. Did he say something?" Junie was panicked.

"He hasn't said anything, but you have to know that is what is going to happen in the end. That bond you feel – the happiness when you're together, the warmth you feel around him – it keeps growing until it's undeniable. If you two were going to be incompatible, you'd know it already. Face it; you're going to end up married to Sirius Black either this year or next.

Junie sat back and immediately had the urge to cry. She wasn't sure about any of it, not really, and she didn't even know if she wanted to be married. It would end up a colossal ordeal too, him being from a Noble and Ancient House and Chief Warlock. She wanted to be married in the little church she'd gone to with her parents.

Just then, Lily walked into the kitchen, surveyed the pair of them, and decided they needed to be somewhere more private. Taking hold of their hands, she Disapparated them to the master bedroom.

Meanwhile, in the study, Remus and Sirius were greeting James.

"Seriously, Padfoot, your face is going to break from smiling so much," James said, giving his best mate a half-hug with a firm pat on the back. He did the same with Remus, who then poured him a tumbler of whisky. The trio sat down, Sirius continuing to smile.

"It's annoying how happy he is, isn't it?" Remus teased.

"Disgustingly," James replied in the same mood. "We weren't ever like this."

"Prongs, you followed Lily around like a fawn for three years before you got her name. Once she'd settled down into the idea, you two were inseparable. Honestly, with Lily always being in our room, I started sleeping in the common room." The trio laughed, but Remus the hardest.

"Oh, and you, don't think you weren't repulsive as well. When you and Marlene came back for seventh year, and we found out you'd already proposed…well, it certainly was astonishing. You considered it dumb luck that you were matched with a woman who had a werewolf as a father and that he still lived with his family; it was a revelation for you."

"That is absolutely true. The fact that he'd had children after he'd been turned, well, it gave me hope about my future with Lenny," Remus answered. The other two didn't understand why he called his wife Lenny since they'd never shared that story with the others.

"I'm sorry we're happy," Sirius said with an earnestness that made his friends take note. "She's different than anyone I've ever dated. We talk about everything. I've shared things with her that only you, Prongs, know about, and that's because you were there when it all happened. She knows about my awful childhood and about my dating life and my strained relationship with Reg and everything. She listens to me when I discuss what I'm doing at work, and she asks these intelligent questions and offers reliable advice."

"Wow, Sirius, I'm thrilled for you," Remus said. "I take back all my sarcastic remarks."

"Thank you."

"Me too, Pads," James said. "Who knew your polar opposite was what you needed?"

"The Source did," Sirius added. "I have an appointment to go speak with the High Mages this week, and then Dumbledore and I are going to have lunch afterward. The meeting with all the Mages concerns my new job. I want to talk to Dumbledore to find out why Junie and I were matched so late in life and find out what he would do about moving the make-up of the Wizengamot to a more representative body. I know he couldn't do much about it, although not for lack of trying, I have a more implicant mandate to make changes."

"Has the whole world gone upside down for you?" James asked. "You sound more like Professor Remus here rather than yourself, the chief prankster."

"Prongs, I haven't been the chief prankster in years. When father died, and the entirety of being head of house fell onto me, I couldn't goof around so much. The finances were in a dreadful state, and tertiary family members were bleeding us dry. Then there was the mess with the deeds to some of the homes and father's questionable business practices. Finally, I was thrown into a legal battle over the seat in the Wizengamot. That started the entire process of reconsidering the overall composition of the body and who we are to serve." Sirius was a bit annoyed. "It's not like I've been a child for the last fifteen years, and of everyone in my life, you should have known that!"

"Sirius, I'm sorry for upsetting you. Of course, I know how hard you've been working. It wasn't anything like when I took over for dad. Everything was in order, and he spent the last two years of his life training me to take his place. I know you didn't have that. Come on; you don't usually snap like this, care to share what's really eating at you?"

Sirius looked at the two of them and prepared himself for the ridicule. "I'm frustrated with myself and Junie."

"What?" they asked in unison.

"Junie confessed she's never been with another guy," Sirius said quietly. "I expect you to respect that news, please," he added hastily. "So, because of that, because I admire that and her, I haven't made a move to touch her at all."

"Wait, I'm a bit confused, Sirius," Remus said. "The man who won the contest for most girls kissed while at Hogwarts is afraid to do anything more than snog his girlfriend?" Sirius nodded, and Remus and James looked surprised.

"I don't want to scare her. I want everything to be outstanding for her, something important we share. She's it for me, and dammit, she was sitting right in front of me.

"Sirius, are you in love?" James asked.

"I'm certainly falling in love. How do I move our intimate relationship forward – especially since we're so unbalanced in our previous experience – without ruining the wonderful relationship we're building?" Sirius drank the two fingers of whiskey left in his tumbler down in one swallow awaiting their answer.

Upstairs in the master, the conversation was turning to a similar topic. Junie had confessed to her friends that she was unknowledgeable about deeper intimacy levels, except in the most clinical terms. She couldn't even remember the class they'd had on reproductive and contraceptive charms. "Am I crazy? Maybe he hasn't made a move because he doesn't really like me."

"Junie, knowing Sirius, if he didn't like you, he'd have slept with you on your first date," Lily said dismissively.

"That's not fair of you, Lily. He isn't promiscuous."

"Sure, he might say that now. But back after we were first married, he –"

"Dated a lot. Didn't sleep with most of them," Junie was getting frustrated at her friend.

"Lils, maybe lay off this," Marlene said. "His count isn't even in the double digits," she whispered.

"That can't be true," Lily scoffed. "When we were at school, he was always in a broom cupboard."

"Because he was in a contest with James to see who could kiss more girls. It didn't go any further, except with a notable exception," Junie bit back. "You know, for someone so interested in me dating Sirius, you certainly have a low opinion of him. You did make him godfather to your eldest son."

"That wasn't my choice, believe me," Lily said hastily, and then regretted the words once they left her mouth. "Look, James was insistent, and I wasn't an enthusiastic fan of his at the time. Sirius has grown on me; I just hated when he'd bring a woman around Harry who wouldn't be there the next time, we saw him. It wasn't something easy to explain to a child."

"Lily, Harry is almost twenty and married himself. Hardly think it's fair to talk about something that far in the past. I hoped you'd support me in this, but it feels like…I'm not settling. He's so much more than I knew. I feel important when I'm with him. I haven't ever felt like I was important to anyone."

"Wait a minute, you have always been important to us," Marlene said.

"I know, but it's different from being important when you are part of a group of friends and when a person loves you and thinks your important."

"Junie, are you in love?" Marlene asked excitedly.

"I think I might be, which terrifies me. I've never felt like this, and I worry it's just infatuation; that only lasts for ninety days. I think this is more long-lasting, or I hope it is."

Lily said down next to Junie on the bed and wrapped an arm around her. "Well, if it is love, then you probably will need to prompt Sirius to take your relationship to the next level. How about ditching the turtleneck sweaters?"

"It's cold in the castle."

"You're not in the castle right now," Marlene said. "Let me get you something different. Your bum looks great in those jeans, by the way."

"What?"

"They frame your bum well," she said, digging through her closet. "Here, it's the hot colour this year, and with your complexion, you'll look great." She withdrew a cerulean blue blouse with a cross over panel that left a deep plunge in the front.

"I am not comfortable showing off that much skin!" Junie stated while shaking her head.

"It doesn't show that much. Come on, off with the turtleneck," Marlene pushed. Junie looked at her friends like they were crazy.

"What safer place to try this, everyone else here is married, and except for Dorothy, us girls have seen you in your undies. Come on." Reluctantly she lifted the thick turtleneck sweater. Junie stood there in her sports bra.

"A sports bra, really Junie? When was the last time you exercised? I think I have something here you can use," Marlene went to her dresser and pulled out a pale peach bra with lace and satin. "Here, have this."

"I'm not wearing your undergarments."

"It's brand new; the tags are still on it. If it doesn't quite fit, we can use magic to our advantage." Sensing her reluctance, Lily flicked her wand, and the bras switched places, and Junie suddenly felt self-conscious.

"You look great," she said. "I wish my chest still held up like that. Breastfeeding four kids will not be kind to your breasts. Be forewarned."

"Might be too much info, Lil," Marlene said. "Here, let's get this on you. Put it on like a jacket, and then we thread this end through the hole here, and then wrap this around the back and tie it, and oh, wow!"

Marlene turned Junie toward the full-length mirror, and they all looked in surprise. "You look amazing." Lily nodded in agreement. The colour was beautiful, and it brought out the flecks of blue in her eyes. The blouse's cut was relatively modest, but it did show more skin than her usual high necklines did. Her necklace was highlighted there.

"Sirius might cut dinner short just to get you home," Lily said with a grin. Remus called his wife downstairs, telling her that the Pettigrews were here, and the three headed down, Junie last. When Sirius caught sight of her, his breath caught.

Yeah, he was undoubtedly in love.