Author's Note: Here we are, a stag night for Sirius Black...it's anyone's guess as to what will happen. Deep thanks to my beta, Arnel, and thanks to all of you who are reading and reviewing, MNF

Chapter 31:

Stag

"I have no clue what they're up to," Sirius said as he dressed for his final robes fitting and then his Stag Night with the guys. Sirius knew Prongs was in charge, but that Harry was helping him. The later addition made Sirius nervous, as Harry's Stag party had been a somewhat crazy affair.

Organized by Ron, the Weasley twins, and a few gents from the Wasps, they had a whole club to themselves, and the older generations – including the Marauders at the end of their thirties – had been ready to leave by eleven-thirty. The younger gents were still going strong. The party had broken up at half four in the morning. Harry was still drunk at eleven the following day when Sirius had gone to check on him in his dumpy flat near the stadium.

"Well, don't do anything you'd regret, like get a neck tattoo or a penile piercing."

"People do that?" Sirius asked in a voice an octave higher than usual.

"So I'm told," Junie said. "Spending time with teenagers has been an education."

"No piercings of intimate parts will be taking place," Sirius said. "Why not a tattoo?"

"I said a neck tattoo," Junie said, turning around from the desk to look at him. "The other ones you have are well hidden when you're in front of the Wizengamot. Another one on your torso or perhaps your hip is excellent and quite sexy if I add my two cents. A tattoo that the older populace can see on your neck that might not go over so well." Sirius sauntered over to her, his iridescent red Oxford shirt wide open and fluttering like the wings over his low-slung jeans, looking like some sort of ancient sex god.

"You like the tattoos, huh?" he asked, putting his hands on the armrests, and effectively trapping Junie into the chair. "Sexy?"

"Absolutely," Junie said in a throaty semi-moan. "As long as they're only for me, then get as many as you want." Sirius kissed her long and hard and with lots of heat.

"What about you? Have you ever considered it?"

"I thought about it after Mum died," Junie said. "If she'd ever seen it on me, she would have chastised me ruthlessly. But your name or something, somewhere on me…yeah, I could see myself doing that." The answer earned her another searing kiss.

"Maybe we should get matching ones while we're on our wedding trip?"

"Perhaps as a secret, we keep, just for us?" Junie queried.

"If that's what you want, Luv."

"I just don't want Lily's condemnation. She already thinks you're corrupting me," Junie said. Sirius went to say something, but she put her fingers on his lips. "I let her know that I'm not corrupted, but rather I've been liberated. Thank you for helping me see who I was all along; I just was afraid to be this witch who you're going to marry."

"Juniper, nothing about who you really is changed," he said softly, offering his hand and helping her stand. "You're still the brilliant godmother of Rosie, you're a good friend to Lily and Marlene, and you are an excellent teacher. All those things are the things that make up you. That you're more comfortable in your skin, and you now see yourself as beautiful as you've always been, that's icing on the cake."

"I love you," she whispered before kissing him. A soft chime went off, alerting him that Minsey was keeping him on schedule.

"I'm leaving my own stag as soon as I can," he promised. "One glass of Firewhisky and no more. I want to come home to you tonight and show you all the ways I can love you."

"Sounds amazing," she said, buttoning up his shirt and then summoning his belt and boots from his closet. "I'll see you later."

Sirius met his best friends at an upscale London Wizarding Tailor, Chelsea Couturier (for Distinguished Wizards), located behind a posh Muggle men's shop, Sirius and James often visited now that they were sporting more modern clothing. Sirius had already paid the bills for the robes, not wanting Remus or Peter to feel constricted by the expense. Grey robes could have been purchased anywhere on Diagon Alley, but he was only going to be married once, and he wanted his outfit to reflect how important the day was. He and Junie decided everyone should look almost as good as they were going to.

Not surprisingly, James and Harry were the first to arrive; James was known for being exceedingly punctual. Harry generally was as well, but he'd had matches four of the last five days and appeared like he wished he was still in his bed.

"You look ragged," Sirius said, putting a hand on his godson's shoulder.

"The match yesterday lasted for four hours," Harry said. "I saw the Snitch early on, but we were behind by nearly two-hundred points, so even if I caught it, we'd lose. I didn't want to do what Bulgaria did in the World Cup in my fourth year. Keeping the other team's Seeker off my tail was a challenge. I haven't flown that hard in a long time."

"Who were you playing?"

"Puddlemere; Oliver Wood kept making faces at me and yelling at his Seeker to stay with me. I eventually lost her by doing over a minute of barrel rolls and dives. She forgot to spot while she was rolling and got sick to her stomach," Harry said with a grin.

"I knew those drills we did with you when you were in the sixth year would pay off," Sirius said proudly.

"You got sick too, old man," Harry said with a laugh, and James chose to laugh with his son. Geoffrey, the clerk who was servicing the wedding party, took the three of them back to the fitting rooms. He offered them tea or coffee drinks, Muggle sodas or Wizarding Gilly Water, or any number of fine whiskies – Muggle or Wizarding. Sirius chose a Muggle-aged whiskey after he'd tried on his robes and had them reviewed as ready. He was wearing a white brocade waistcoat and tie, whereas the older gents had solid gold ones to match their wives and the younger men had solid blue to match the girls. Peter came in, excited to be having some time out with his friends. He was much more relaxed now that his financial problems were corrected.

Surprisingly, Remus and George were the last to arrive, which was unusual. "Sorry we're running late, Sirius, but someone was called into the Headmistress's office today, and I had to go and fetch him. He and a mate decided to bring dung bombs in and set them off in the teachers' lounge."

"Sounds like something we would have done at ten or eleven too, Remus," James said.

"Yes, and I seem to remember us getting detention for it too," he replied, giving James a glare to punctuate the sentence.

"Here, George, why don't you go back and try on your robes," Sirius said, handing him the correct set. When the boy was gone, Sirius turned to his mate. "Remus, he's a normal boy, and they are going to pull pranks. The more you stress over it, the more he's going to do it. Find ways to give him more positive reinforcement."

"What do you know about positive reinforcement?" Remus asked, somewhat aghast that he was getting parenting advice from Sirius.

"I know what Junie tells me about how she handles students," Sirius said. "And I believe that she had a similar incident with both your sons, dung bombs and the prefects' bathroom only a few weeks ago. That's probably where he got the materials and the idea," Sirius explained.

"She didn't write home about it," James said.

"Because she gave them both a week's worth of detentions and made them catalogue all her Muggle records, with new identification labels and cards," Sirius explained. "We dined in her office twice while they were working."

"Those boys," Remus said. "Normally, they're pleasant enough, but when you put them together –"

"They are the second generation of Marauders," Harry added, making everyone laugh. Remus downed a glass of Firewhisky in one gulp, surprising Geoffrey, and then took his robes and went to try them on. When everyone was deemed perfect, the robes were hung up again to promise that they would arrive at Hogwarts by eight the morning of the wedding.

"Okay, James, Harry, you're in charge now. Where are we going?" Sirius asked.

"We're going to the Burrow," Harry said happily.

"My stag night is at the Burrow?"

"No, it's just a meeting place," James answered. "We'll take a Portkey from there to the actual location of your party."

"No strippers, right?" Sirius asked. "I really don't want to do that. It would feel like I was cheating on Junie." James and Remus laughed.

"It was fine for our stag nights," Remus said.

"We were younger then," Sirius replied. "Now I'd just feel a bit lecherous looking at partially naked witches half my age."

"I can't believe you're saying these things," James said, shaking his head. "You were the guy who kissed the most girls at Hogwarts."

"Yup, and I would change that if I knew that my Junie was in front of me for all those years, and I had no clue she would be the woman I would fall in love with. All those wasted years," he added contemplatively.

"Come on, everyone should be waiting for us now," Harry said. The assembled group went out the rear door where there was a spot designed for Apparation and Disapparation where the prying eyes of Muggles couldn't see them. Harry took George with him. The young man would only be staying through dinner; the rest of the evening was meant for adult wizards only. He'd made a Portkey to take his cousin home after the meal.

On the lawn of the Burrow, Sirius was greeted by all the Weasley men, including Charlie, who was home from Romania for the evening. Frank and Neville Longbottom; Kingsley Shacklebolt; several members of the Hogwarts Quidditch team for the years Sirius played and other gents who were at school with him; David Hawkins, his personal assistant, and several other members of what was called the Progressive Wizarding party of which Sirius and James were considered the leaders were assembled on the lawn, talking amongst themselves. When Sirius arrived, a cheer went up, and those whom Sirius hadn't seen in a while came up to hug him and congratulate him on his upcoming wedding. Ron produced a large piece of cardboard which James had prepared as a Portkey and asked everyone to hold on. They landed inside an ornate lobby.

"Gentlemen," James said in a loud voice, "welcome to Sirius Black's Stag Night. We are inside the Grand Morgana Casino. We will be dining first, and then we will be heading into the casino for a night of gambling – two things Sirius enjoys. If you will follow me, please."

James led the group through the gold and red lobby, the guys remarking about some of the designs' ostentatious nature.

"How are we here?" Bill asked James. "This place isn't open yet." It was true; the first all wizarding casino in London wasn't supposed to open until early July.

"Yes, well, when you tell them that one, the cost isn't an issue and two, it's for the new Chief Warlock's stag night, they were more than happy to open up for us."

"Thank you for including all of us," Bill said. "There are lots of men in this family."

"You're my son's in-laws, which makes you, our family. Your dad is Sirius' cousin, which means you're related to him too. Pureblood families need some new blood."

"I did my part," Bill replied. "I married a French, part-Veela witch. I would have married the girl I was Heart-Tied with, but I wasn't good enough for her."

"Who were you originally matched with?" James asked, having never heard this story.

"A witch by the name of Elodie Burke," Bill explained. "She was two years older than me and wasn't taught at Hogwarts but instead was sent to Beauxbatons, due to her parents wanting her to have a 'proper education.' The funny part is that Fleur knows her and says she's beautiful but rather dim. As far as she knows, Elodie remains unmarried."

"The Source knows," James said. "Hey Sirius, whatever happened with the poisoning of The Source? I never read anything about it," James asked his mate who was on his other side.

"Kid home from Durmstrang showing off for a sibling," Sirius explained. "Parents wanted him taught in the Dark Arts. I kept it out of the papers to avoid panic. Now, enough about my job, this is my party and I intend to enjoy it."

"More tattoos perhaps," Bill asked. He sported several elaborate ones on his forearms.

"If that's where the night leads us, then by all means, yes."

The steakhouse was done in rich blues and silvers, and Sirius couldn't help but wonder if it looked a bit like the Ravenclaw common room. He'd have to ask Junie when he returned home. James gave some instructions that everything on the menu or the drinks list was available.

"Mate, this is amazing," Sirius said to James.

"Well, you're the only brother I have," James said. "I never thought I'd get to throw you a stag. When things didn't work out with Amelia, I just figured you'd be the eternal bachelor. Who knew you'd be marrying the woman Lils and I pegged as the spinster aunt."

"Please, don't ever tell Junie you thought of her as a spinster," Sirius begged. "She was worried about being dowdy before we got together. She'd never recover from being called a spinster."

Sirius sat between James and Remus, their sons on their other sides. An array of hors d'oeuvres was awaiting them on the tables – stuffed mushrooms, Tattie Scones, Sausage Rolls, thick slices of Blood Pudding, Angels on Horseback, pickled kidneys, and hummus with vegetables. Next, everyone was served an onion soup with crusty rolls. Remus had the sense to charm George's outfit so it wouldn't stain, as the young man was known to dribble soup off his spoon whenever he ate it.

"Remus, are you going to eat meat tonight?" Harry asked his uncle with a glint in his eye.

"Following the lead of the guest of honour, I will be. I do consume meat still, but usually, I avoid it. We do consume fowl and fish, as we wanted the kids to have a healthy diet," Remus explained, and Harry nodded even as he felt like he'd been scolded. The irony that the werewolf was a vegetarian most of the time wasn't lost on the younger man.

"Dad sneaks burgers when it's close to the full moon," George added rather loudly.

"That's not bad; Ginny can eat an entire family-size bag of crisps when it's her time of the month." Several of her brothers moaned at Harry's admission.

"Could this not be a topic of conversation while we're eating, please?" James asked his son, who nodded and looked a bit ashamed. He forgot he wasn't at a family dinner in one of their homes and talking with his cousin or, worse, in the locker room at the stadium. Some of what was discussed there was raunchy.

"Rem, you don't need to eat meat on my account," Sirius said.

"Honestly, I want to. Don't tell my Lenny, but I do miss it sometimes."

"Your secret is safe with us," James said, even as he and Sirius sniggered. Sirius ordered the largest steak he thought he could feasibly eat and ordered it quite rare, although not as much as Moony's. Remus ate his meat just past the mooing stage. He ordered more Firewhisky, although he held himself to just one before he switched over to Butterbeer.

"Uncle Sirius, you're drinking Butterbeer?" Harry asked. "What's wrong?"

"I'm not going home pissed tonight," he answered.

"You're not even married, and Auntie Junie already has you on a leash." Those aware laughed at the dog reference.

"No, Harry, I'm not on a leash. I simply want to enjoy the delights of my fiancée when I arrive home. If I'm drunk, I might not enjoy them that much." The conversation turned to Wizengamot matters while the men waited between the main meal and the afters.

Dessert and coffee were brought out. James had requested Sirius' second favourite – sticky toffee pudding. His favourite had always been bread and butter pudding, but he'd announced earlier this year that Junie's version was the best he'd ever had, and nothing would ever compete with it. The toffee sauce was thick and warm, and he enjoyed it immensely.

Finally, the cheese course was brought out, and it was impressive. Just for Sirius, the eatery included some preserved meats like prosciutto and Genoa salami. There were also delicate dried fruits and slices of apples and pears, honey, and several types of biscuits. Sirius loved the cheese course and regretted eating so much meat as his main course, as he was beginning to feel bloated.

"I can't eat like I used to," he said to his mates.

"None of us can," James replied. "I brought some stomach potions with me, should we need them. Lily laughed as I asked her to whip them up."

Sirius enjoyed listening to the conversations. There were many regarding Quidditch, but there were also discussions about jobs, Ministry policies, children (although that was mainly from the older generations), and eventually to their aches and pains. He was thrilled by the group of men assembled to help him move into this next phase of his life and considered himself lucky to have kept his best friends through his whole life, James especially. There wasn't a time he didn't remember his best mate being there.

When the cheese course was finished, Remus took George to the lobby, and the boy was upset he wasn't allowed to stay for the rest of the night. George was yawning, however, so it really was time for him to leave. The Portkey glowed and George was home with his mum. Marley's Patronus was proof of it only moments later. She also informed him that their secret plan had been put into place, and all was well. Remus smiled at their little duplicity.

Meanwhile, bags of gold Galleons appeared before the men. James explained that they were not to use any of their own money since he'd chosen the place for the party, and if they were to run out, he would front them more within reason. The men hit the casino with excitement. Sirius played a few rounds of roulette, then some slots before settling down to a 'friendly' game of poker with his mates. He felt sorry for Arthur sitting there with the four Marauders, for they frequently played poker together, and they could be vicious. Arthur didn't have a poker face either, so he was well out of his league with the guys who could lie to each other with ease. Sirius enjoyed one more glass of Firewhisky before he gave his gold away to Arthur and Fred and went to quietly slip out of the building.

"Where do you think you're going, Padfoot?" James asked. Sirius turned around to see him with Remus and Peter.

"Home to my fiancée," the man in question answered.

"It's only eleven," Peter complained. "Even I have another hour in me."

"I know, and I probably could do another few hours, but I want to be home with Junie. I never understood when you all said you needed to be with your wives; I get it now."

"You're so whipped," Remus said with a knowing smile. "Look, we figured with how quickly all this is happening, you probably haven't been away from London much. Junie is waiting for you in Monaco; it's a gift from all six of us."

"What?"

"Call it a romantic getaway," Remus said, "You've done the same for all of us at one point or another. While you're away, no personal assistants, no exams to grade, no Ministry legislation. Just a night in a beautiful suite and real gambling, if you want."

"Guys, this is…how do I thank you?" Sirius stammered, suddenly at a loss for words.

"Be happy, mate," James said, hugging his best friend cum brother. "Take care of Junie. She's a remarkable woman."

"I know, and I will."

"Here, she's in suite four," Peter said, handing him an old cup and a room key. "We know it's only a night, but you deserve it."

"Be back tomorrow night. We have a busy day on Monday," James said, and Remus nodded along. "What the girls wrote is brilliant, but we need to help it pass." The education legislation that Marley, Lily, Junie, and Professor McGonagall created was well-drafted and supported. It was being presented by James and Remus with Professor McGonagall and Professor McMichael's assistance.

"I don't think Juniper would marry me if I didn't make sure that legislation was properly introduced. Thanks, guys, this means the world to me."

"You've always supported our relationships; it's good that we get to do the same with you now," Peter said. Sirius tapped the cup, and he was soon in Monaco.