Disclaimer: I own nothing except the plot line, the rest of it, aside from
the unfamiliar, belongs to JK Rowling.
A/N: This is a Harry/Sirius Slash story, mixed in with a Lily & James come back to life. It's timed to after Hogwarts & Voldemort's defeat. I'm thrilled at the response this is getting, and hope you all continue to like it. Keep reading!
Responses to Reviews:
Insanechildfanfic, Reese Craven, SiLvErFaTeD, GothicFairyRaven, TanisaFyre, HecateDeMort, Jen, Monica-Chan the Hanyou Kitsune, Quila, KORNfused Pyro, allexandrya, Incensio Lady, and Prongsblacks: I'm so glad you all like my story. Keep reading & reviewing!
Sirius' sweetie, Brian, and Caz Malfoy: Hopefully this answers the Lily & James question.
Madame-X: I'm so glad you have no other complaints. Sorry about the time thing – but life is sometimes fickle about being attended to.
Miranda Wecker: No more cliff hangers? How would I get people to read?
Mandiesnuffles: I aim to please! Glad I made your day happier with an update. Here's another one.
Sylvanus Snape: Yes I'm back. Funny you should mention family reunions – I've got one large one coming up next August (Not this year, but 2005), that I'm helping to plan. It's with 20 people from five different states and various needs/wants/desires. (I'm ready to put them all under the Imperius Curse and demand 'We will go here! There will be no complaining! Everyone will get along! And no one will let the little ones have anything they could possibly use as paint!') Of course, then my mother got this brilliant idea that she would completely re-vamp the living room (I still live at home). So, I'm in the middle of stripping all the walls, filling the nail holes, removing the wall paper boarder, and preparing to paint. I'm also watching my aunt's dog and trying to lose ten to fifteen pounds. (Perhaps it would help if I actually spent the hour I do at the gym actually doing something rather than watching television/reading/listening to music in stead of really working out) Thanks for asking how I'm doing though. And here's another update. :)
Feleda: I am honored that this is your first M-Preg! I have several others, and I urge you to read them as well! I don't have any on my favorites list, but they aren't hard to find on FFnet. (Just do a Harry/Snape or a Harry/Draco search & I can positively say you'll find at least a dozen). Keep reading!
Everyone else I'm forgetting – thank you for reading my story and I'm glad everyone that's reviewed so far enjoys it hope you all keep reading!
I know I was supposed to update last week – but I had a computer issue. I apologize for the delay, but as I nearly lost this chapter due to the computer issue – you're all very lucky it's here at all. As a result of the issue however, this is the only update this week. I apologize but it's been nearly ten days since I've been able to write at all because of the problem I was having. Sorry!
Review please!
(Try to keep negative comments to yourself unless they're constructive criticism please!)
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After the War
Chapter Six: Surprises
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Sirius and Harry were relaxing in the kitchen of their home in Godric's Hollow, eating a leisurely breakfast for the first time in weeks. Harry's pregnancy had finally allowed him to enjoy breakfast again and eating in general. Harry was showing, and almost literally glowing with happiness as he moved into his sixth month of pregnancy.
Sirius, on the other hand, looked as though he was barely getting enough sleep and was wearing himself out. Luckily the house-elves were able to handle Harry's food cravings, but between work and taking care of his husband, Sirius was slowly coming to the need for a serious vacation. Harry smiled over the copy of the Daily Prophet he was reading, watching Sirius shift through their morning owl post.
Sirius came to one letter and frowned briefly before putting aside the others to read it. Harry saw and asked almost immediately, "Siri? What is it?"
Sirius bit his lip before he explained, "It's a letter from Minerva. It's like the letters from the war though, no funny explanations or invitation. All it says is, 'Sirius, Come to Hogwarts, preferably without Harry, at the first available moment you have. The password to my office is currently 'Dancing Tea Cups'."
Harry frowned, that did sound a lot like things they'd received during the war – and those weren't good kinds of letters. Harry bit his lip and said gently, "Well, hopefully nothing's happened, but we should go over there immediately. You don't need to be at work for anything specific today, do you?"
Sirius shook his head and replied, "No, I'll go fire-call Fletcher and let him know I won't be in. Are you sure you want to come with, love?"
Harry nodded and said, "Of course I do, if nothing else while you talk to Minerva, I'll go talk to Remus or Draco, or someone that has a free period I guess. Besides, it'd be nice to just see the castle at the moment."
Sirius smiled and got up, leaving to fire-call Mundungus Fletcher from the study, kissing Harry on the forehead as he went. Harry finished up his breakfast, steadfastly ignoring the throngs of house-elves busily working in the house. The elves were excited to have another 'Master' as they hoped it meant more work for them to do. Admittedly, both Sirius and Harry realized they really didn't have enough for their elves to do, and shipped them off around their family and friends so they would have something to do.
Harry made his way up the stairs, slowly of course, and to the master bedroom so that he could slip into more comfortable robes. Ten minutes later, Harry entered the study, where Mundungus and Sirius were still talking about something or other, in his newest set of paternity robes, a shimmering navy blue that swirled and distracted others from noticing his bulging stomach.
Mundungus smiled at him and said, "Hello there Harry! How are you feeling?"
Harry smiled back and said, "Hello Mundungus, I'm alright, and so is the baby, thanks for asking."
Mundungus grinned slightly and nodded before saying, "Wonderful news! Anyhow, Sirius, Harry, I best be going. Take care, and get plenty of rest now Harry, we're all looking forward to seeing that little one!"
Sirius and Mundungus ended the call, and shortly there after both men were flooing to Hogsmeade. Sirius went first, and barely managed to catch Harry as he came out on the other end. Harry smiled gratefully at his husband, who kissed him in return, before they both straightened out slightly and started to make their way towards Hogwarts.
They walked slowly and with their arms wrapped around one another, stopping once in a while when they felt a flutter from Harry's stomach. So nearly two hours later, when they arrived at the entrance to the castle, they weren't surprised when Athena Malfoy was waiting for them. She wasn't smiling however and ignored Harry as she asked, "Sirius, why did you bring Harry with you? Minerva specifically requested that you come alone, did she not?"
Sirius raised an eyebrow, while Harry looked indignant at being discussed right in front of himself. Sirius frowned and then asked, "What, exactly, is going on? Harry thought he'd tag along and chit-chat with everyone else while I'm talking with Minerva."
Athena sighed slightly and then nodded and said, "Alright, Sirius, you go on ahead then. Harry, why don't you and I go see Damien, Alexandra and Stewart, ey?"
Harry smiled and let himself be dragged away with Athena towards his godchildren. Sirius watched him leave for a moment before turning and heading towards Minerva's office. Sirius gave the password and entered without knocking and of course without bothering to look at anyone in the room. He immediately demanded, "What the hell is going on that is so important I couldn't tell my own husband about it?"
Minerva frowned, cleared her throat and said calmly, "Mr. Potter, I do rea –"
A voice interrupted, "Potter? Minerva, are you blind? That's Sirius Black."
Minerva sighed and said, "Yes, I realize that Mr. Potter – James – however, that is not his name any longer. Sirius, come in and sit down. I've had a very long week, and you'll have to help me break this news to Harry, what with his current state and all."
Sirius looked around the office, and realized with rather wide eyes that Minerva had been talking to James Potter, who was technically his Father-in- law at the moment, not just his very good but supposed to be deceased best friend. Next to James was a woman who could be no other than Lily Potter, holding a small child who looked to be an exact replica of Lily – right down to the eyes.
So Sirius did the only thing he could have done in that sort of a situation. One were you realize your supposedly dead best friend is about to find out that you're not only shagging, but married to and knocked up their only son, who was your godson last they knew. Sirius passed out in a dead faint.
Minerva sighed and said, "Damn it. I wanted him to help me explain things to everyone. Remus – you explain – Severus will you fire-call Athena and let her know to contact Harry? I'll take Sirius down to Poppy. Do tell Athena it's nothing serious and keep in mind Harry's fragile state before you blurt something incredibly stupid out Severus."
Severus snorted and said, "Minerva, I'm hardly that unintelligent."
Minerva sighed, pointed her wand at Sirius and started to levitate him towards the Hospital Wing. Of course, that was when the door burst open and Draco Malfoy burst in the room. He looked at the scene and said, "Oh, lovely he passed out. His husband felt the shock from clear across the castle, and went into hysterics. Athena's brought him to the Hospital Wing; he thought something was wrong with the baby."
Minerva sighed again and said, "Severus, never mind. You help Remus, Draco, and take that lunatic to the hospital wing. Use a silencing charm so he doesn't further upset the poor dear. I'll come with you of course."
Draco nodded, took over the charm on Sirius and started to leave the office, Minerva following him. Lily and James blinked and turned to Remus and Severus. Lily cleared her throat and asked, "What the hell is going on around here?"
Remus sighed and said, "Well, while we spent the entire week ensuring that you were actually Lily and James, we haven't really explained what's happened here. You see, things are a bit complicated. Harry lived through the attack of course – you knew that much. Voldemort did not survive the attack fully in tact. Harry managed to deflect the curse, weakening Voldemort severely."
Severus added helpfully, "Thus making the brat famous and known to all the Wizarding World. He spent his childhood with the filthiest Muggles imaginable – your sister and her husband, Lily – who had a son they doted on while they practically abused Harry. Though we didn't know about any of that until his Fifth Year here. I personally hexed both, and made a few Potions to ensure they, uh, were uncomfortable for a few days."
Remus snorted and said, "Sev, you made their skin turn a bright blinking orange, turned their hair into serpents, had them vomiting and experiencing the worst pains imaginable for days. It took the Ministry a week to sort out what Severus had done to them – though they couldn't very well trace it back to him. And then Sirius of course had a go at them, scared the hell out of them before turning them into mice and sending them to Arabella Figg's house – who still has that little affinity for cats."
James frowned and asked, "Why didn't Sirius raise him?"
Severus had to explain, as Remus stood and looked out the window. Severus sighed and said, "Pettigrew managed to frame Sirius for killing himself and twelve Muggles. Pettigrew faked his own death, and hid with a Wizarding family as a rat for twelve years. Sirius spent those years locked up in Azkaban without a trial, accused of that and being a Death Eater as no one knew you'd switched Secret Keepers."
Lily gasped, and James stood, pacing slightly, as Severus continued, "You see, twelve years later – Harry's third year at Hogwarts – Sirius managed to escape after seeing a picture of Pettigrew's rat form with the Weasley family. Sirius managed to figure that as their family was notoriously Gryffindors that Pettigrew had unlimited access to Harry, and no one knew about it. So being the over protective idiot that he is, he escaped and went after Pettigrew."
Remus broke in here by saying, "Albus came to me that summer, just after Sirius escaped. He wanted someone who knew him here to watch out for Harry. It helped Harry and I get to know one another at the least, and made it so that both of us learned of Sirius's innocence at the same time. There was little we could do however, as Pettigrew managed to escape before we could get him to Dumbledore. Harry was devastated, as were Sirius and I."
Severus smiled sadly and said, "I have to admit, it's partially my fault. I didn't know Pettigrew was there though, had no idea he was an animagus. Harry and his friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Taneli – then Granger – teamed up and out right attacked me in Sirius's defense. Though I daresay they were more upset about possible harm coming to Remus at the time."
Remus chuckled and said, "Well, possibly. Anyway, we were unable to clear Sirius's name until after Harry had finished Hogwarts. Voldemort managed to re-gain his body during Harry's fourth year – please don't ask him about it, we'll give you details later – and started a full out war against the Wizarding World. Harry moved into a nice home in Godric's Hollow after he graduated. He married a lovely witch – Sally-Anne Perks, and they had a child almost immediately."
Lily smiled at that and was about to ask something when Remus held up his hand and continued, "Their daughter was named Jasmine Lily, and she was a delightful little girl. Six weeks after her birth, Sally-Anne and Jasmine were captured. Pettigrew himself tortured both to death, and when Harry found out it nearly destroyed him. He murdered Pettigrew in return before demanding the Ministry clear Sirius's name."
James and Lily both looked lost for words at that, and Severus said rather gently, "Harry has managed to move on from that. He's only recently married once more – bonded this time actually, and I have to say I've never seen him so happy."
Remus added on for James and Lily's benefit, "Voldemort was defeated nearly three years ago by Harry; of course he refuses to take the credit for it. Albus died helping Harry with Voldemort's final defeat, and Harry refuses to take all the credit for that. He's rather insistent that every minor person involved receives credit. He'd make a wonderful Minister, but he absolutely loathes politics."
James asked, "Who exactly is Harry married to?"
Remus and Severus exchanged a glance before Remus said quietly, "Harry and his husband have both been through hell in their lives, and are happy for possibly the first time with one another. Harry's expecting their first child; he's six months along in his pregnancy."
Lily suddenly exclaimed, "Sirius! Sirius and Harry are married – that's what no one wants to tell us!"
Severus nodded and replied, "Loath though I am to admit it, they rather deserve one another. And if you mess this up – so help me Merlin – it took the group of us nearly a year after Voldemort's defeat to find a way to get them to admit to their feelings. I'll be the first in a long line of people hexing you for taking away the first peaceful time happiness either has had in their lives since the pair of you were killed."
Lily and James both frowned before looking at one another and then back at Severus and Remus. James sighed and asked, "Might we meet our son?"
Remus frowned and then said, "I think it would be better if we waited for Minerva and Sirius to return. Harry isn't exactly in his right mind now – and when Sirius is floated into the Hospital Wing I'm quite sure he'll just become more hysterical until someone explains what's going on – which Minerva won't allow anyone other than Sirius to do. That was why we hadn't contacted Harry."
Severus snorted slightly and said, "More like none of us wanted to deal with a Wizard like Harry both upset and in protective mode. Your son happens to be a force to be reckoned with – Voldemort himself didn't like going up against him. Watching the final battle between Albus, Harry and Voldemort was rather amusing if not for Albus's death. I do believe Voldemort was shaking slightly with fear."
Remus smiled at the memory of seeing Voldemort shaking before Albus and Harry, before clearing his throat and saying, "Well, I suppose we could go check on them. Lily and James if you could just stay out of sight, then you could come with I suppose."
They nodded in agreement, and the four slowly made their way to the Hospital Wing. Remus and Severus talked quietly on the way down to the Hospital Wing about what was going on, and how to deal with showing but not really showing Lily and James that Harry was alright. James and Lily walked behind them, with their arms around one another and their daughter, not quite sure how to deal with the information they'd learned so far.
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Meanwhile. . . .
Harry and Athena had gone to Athena's office, where Draco and the kids were waiting. Draco was grading papers, while Stewart napped in his Daddy's arms, and Damien and Alexandra were playing amongst themselves on the floor with their toy wands. Harry smiled at his godchildren and best friend before saying, "Hello everyone, having fun?"
Damien looked up and exclaimed, "Uncle Harry!"
Alexandra squealed and ran over with Damien to say hello, both hugging Harry hello as best they could with Harry's stomach bulging slightly between them. Draco looked up and frowned slightly before asking, "Harry? What are you doing here? I thought Minerva only sent for Sirius?"
Harry frowned and asked, "What is going on around here anyway? You all are trying to hide something from me and I'd rather like to know what's going on."
Damien and Alexandra went back to their toys, ignoring the adults now that they'd said hello to Uncle Harry. Draco bit his lip, and Athena answered, "We just wanted to explain the situation to Sirius, and have him explain it to you. We just felt that it would come better from him, rather than us."
Harry thought about it and sighed before replying, "Alright, must be bad news than. How's everything with you two then?"
Athena smiled and said, "Stewart seems to be close to crawling from what I can –"
Harry felt a wave of Sirius's panicked, shocked, horrified emotions come through him and jolted slightly, and made the baby kick him rather forcefully. Harry gasped and held his stomach; suddenly terrified that something was wrong. Draco and Athena both asked, "Are you alright Harry?"
Harry shook his head and started to hyperventilate slightly before saying, "S-some-things w-wrong."
Athena took Stewart from Draco and said, "Draco, go get Minerva and Sirius, we'll meet you at the hospital wing. Damien, Alexandra, come with Uncle Harry and I please."
Damien and Alexandra seemed to know something was wrong, and didn't object to walking quickly towards the Hospital Wing with Athena, Stewart and Harry. Draco took off running towards the Headmistress's office, with one last look at his best friend, wife and children. Athena, Damien, Alexandra, Stewart and Harry made it to the Hospital Wing fairly quickly.
Harry was still hyperventilating slightly, and holding his stomach, worried out of his mind. Poppy took one look at him before saying, "Harry, sit down over there please. What's wrong dear?"
Athena explained, "We're not sure exactly."
Poppy nodded and started a full examination before saying; "I think you should just lay here calmly for a while, Harry. Is your husband around?"
Athena answered quickly, "He's with Minerva, and our uh, guests."
Poppy frowned, and finished quickly before saying, "Alright then. Just lay here like I said, Athena can tell Sirius about it later."
Poppy walked off, leaving Harry, Athena and the kids alone while she worked on various re-stocking lists and inventories. Alexandra and Damien were sitting on the bed next to Harry, waiting patiently for their turn to leave. Athena was holding Stewart and sitting in a rocking chair in-between the two beds. Harry closed his eyes, trying to relax a bit more than he already was.
They'd been there not more than five minutes when the doors opened, drawing the small group's attention and Draco and Minerva came in, Sirius floating in-between them. Harry saw them, and his eyes widened before he scrambled to sit up and nearly shrieked, "Sirius! What happened to him!?"
Draco and Minerva seemed to sigh in unison before Draco snickered slightly and Minerva explained, "Your husband had a bit of shock is all. He fainted."
Harry relaxed slightly before asking, "You are sure he's alright, aren't you?"
Draco rolled his eyes and said, "Would I lie to you?"
Harry just looked at Draco, who threw his hands up in the air and said, "Alright, alright already! So I would lie to you – but not about your husband's health!"
The doors opened again and Remus and Severus came in. Harry smiled and exclaimed, "Moony! Severus! How are you two? Where's Tatiana?"
Remus and Severus smiled before Remus replied, "We're both fine thank you Harry. Tatiana is with Neville and Frank right now. How's the baby?"
Harry smiled and said, "Just fine according to Madam Pomfrey –"
He was about to go on when he heard Poppy bark from where she was examining Sirius, "Harry Potter! I did not just hear you call me 'Madam Pomfrey'! I told you to call me Poppy back in your fifth year!"
Harry winced slightly and replied, "Sorry Poppy."
Remus, Severus and Draco snickered slightly at that. Athena rolled her eyes and said, "Well Harry darling, I need to get these darlings of mine and that little ferret of a husband of mine back to our rooms. Do control your Mutt when he regains consciousness, will you?"
Harry rolled his eyes and said, "Only if you put that ferret on a leash."
Athena chuckled, and both ignored Draco's indignant spluttering. Athena smiled and turned to her kids before saying, "Damien, Alexandra, say goodbye to Uncle Harry."
Both toned nearly in unison, "Bye Uncle Harry!"
Harry smiled and gave them both hugs before saying, "Be good for your Mum, give your Dad hell."
Damien and Alexandra nodded seriously before leaving with Athena, who was chuckling slightly while adjusting Stewart. Draco frowned at Harry and said, "Do you have to be such an incredibly bad influence on my children, Potter?"
Harry raised an eyebrow before asking, "Are you implying you'll act differently towards my child, and the possible children that might come along after this one, Malfoy?"
Draco pouted and sighed before saying, "I hate you, you know that right?"
Harry chuckled and said, "Yes, yes, I hate you too. Now run along – you shouldn't leave Athena alone with three children you know. Especially active children who have been brainwashed by their godfather to misbehave for their Dad."
Draco glared, turned to leave and muttered over his shoulder rather darkly, "See you in hell, Potter."
Harry just giggled watching Draco storm out of the room. Remus and Severus sat down next to Harry and Severus said, "I'm just glad you don't pull that crap with Tatiana."
Harry smiled and said, "I only do that with them because it pisses Draco off. It wouldn't piss Moony off – and you'd slip some sort of potion into my food. I'm not stupid. Rash sometimes, yes, pigheaded sometimes, yes, slightly slow sometimes, definitely, but stupid? Oh no, I'm not stupid."
Remus snorted and said, "Slightly slow? How long, exactly, did it take you to realize you were in love with Sirius?"
Harry frowned, and looked thoughtful before answering, "Uh, well. I knew it on a subconscious level in my Fifth year here. Consciously though? Right after Sally-Anne and I got married I realized it. More so when Jasmine was born – I couldn't help thinking it should have been Sirius in the room with me, instead of Sally-Anne. Sometimes I wonder where my brain was during those couple years."
Remus and Severus smiled sadly at Harry before Severus carefully said, "I think we were all caught up in the war Harry. You and Sally-Anne especially. Hard as it is to think about it, and talk about it for you, you have to remember that at the time you two loved one another. Besides, you're with Sirius now, and instead of focusing on what-ifs and might-have- beens, focus on your husband and that child of yours."
Harry smiled and chuckled before saying, "You keep giving that kind of advice Severus, and we're all going to have to start calling you Albus."
Poppy interrupted any retort Severus might have had by saying, "Harry-dear, I'm going to revive your husband now. Do you want him to have a calming potion before I do so?"
Harry bit his lip and said, "I don't know, Severus, Remus, what do you think?"
Remus and Severus exchanged a glance before shaking their heads at Harry; Sirius would deal with the situation now, or risk hurting himself and Harry more later on. Harry nodded and said, "Then no Poppy, just wake the lazy lout up."
Poppy chuckled and asked, "Lazy lout?"
Harry pouted and said, "All I asked for was a fresh box of doughnuts! And instead of apparating to an open store, he made the house-elves make me some of theirs. They just aren't the same! I wanted some of those yummy Krispy Kremes he brought home after that trip he took to the states a few weeks ago, but noooo he's too lazy to get his pregnant husband a well deserved treat!"
Poppy nodded her agreement and said, "And what did you punish the lazy lout with?"
Harry smiled that someone was in agreement with him before saying, "I made him sleep in his doghouse for a week of course. You know I made that a condition for his marriage proposal, wouldn't say yes until he'd promised to bring a doghouse with him to the house. He's only been off punishment for two days now, but I think he's learned his lesson."
Poppy practically cooed to the younger man, "Oh dear, I don't think that's long enough! What he did was totally inexcusable! How hard could it have possibly been for him to apparate just to pick up a few measly doughnuts?"
Remus felt vague sympathy for Harry, Severus hadn't been all too helpful either when he'd been pregnant, but he didn't say anything. Severus on the other hand piped up, "Now wait a minute here, I never thought I'd say this, but I think Sirius had been punished quite enough. After all it's not like you two are using that bed of yours for anything other than sleep now is it?"
Harry smiled dreamily and answered, "Oh no – you see my hormones have been absolutely out of control this past month. Sometimes I'm surprised Sirius doesn't walk around with a cooling charm on himself."
Severus blanched and Remus and Poppy nodded understandingly. Remus smiled at the younger man and said, "I'm the same way just before the moon is full."
Poppy interrupted what could have become a long conversation by reviving Sirius. Sirius blinked slightly before he asked groggily, "Griff?"
Harry took Sirius's hand in his and used the other to brush Sirius's hair off his forehead, smiling at the older Wizard. Sirius smiled back as Harry said, "I'm right here, Love."
Sirius sighed slightly and Harry leaned down, kissing his husband gently on the lips before asking, "Are you alright Padfoot?"
Sirius nodded and frowned slightly before saying, "I had the weirdest dream –"
Remus interrupted, "Sirius – that wasn't a dream. Harry hasn't been told yet, we wanted you to explain to him. Minerva, Severus and I especially felt it would be easier for Harry to hear coming from you."
Sirius's eyes went wide and he sat up on the bed before saying, "Alright. Might I ask how this is possible?"
Severus explained, "Apparently there was a slight potions mishap a few years ago by one of Riddle's followers. It wasn't meant to bring them back the way they are, which is the way they were before only aged correctly. Riddle ordered them to be destroyed, but as Pettigrew saw it as a chance to redeem himself; he gave them a portkey to somewhere in Canada where there wasn't anyone around for miles. It took them nearly six years to find a way they could get here without causing massive panic in the Wizarding World, or alerting the wrong people of their location."
Harry frowned as he sat down next to Sirius, who automatically put his arms around Harry protectively, before he asked, "So someone has been brought back to life, and though Riddle wanted to use them as some sort of controlled Zombie, he instead found himself with two or more individually thinking persons?"
Severus nodded in response and then watched the two men figure things out between themselves. Sirius pulled Harry closer and leaned even more towards Harry before he said gently, "Harry, the baby needs you to stay calm right now, I need you to as well, but if you don't stay calm then the baby is at risk. And we don't want that to happen, I don't want to lose either one of you, so I'm asking you to stay calm, and try to think about this rationally, instead of emotionally, please?"
Harry blinked and looked at his normally not quite 'serious' husband before slowly nodding. Whatever this was, Harry knew things were about to get out of control – very out of control. Sirius sent soothing emotions through their bond, hoping that it would help, as he knew that right now he didn't have time to panic over the newly found not exactly dead friends, not when Harry and the baby needed him to be the strong one right now.
Sirius took a deep breath, steeled himself slightly, and said, "Darling, the people that we're talking about, are your parents."
Harry blinked, looked at Sirius, then Severus, then Remus, then Minerva and finally Poppy before deciding on a way to respond. He burst out laughing – hysterically – with tears rolling down his cheeks, until his stomach hurt and he was gasping for air. Of course, then he did the exact opposite, burst into tears and nearly threw himself against Sirius's chest, howling slightly into the hard chest and fighting against the warm embrace that Sirius offered him silently.
When Harry started to cry, Severus, Remus and Minerva left, knowing that Harry and Sirius needed to be alone right then more than anything else. Poppy stayed close in case there was a problem, but well out of hearing range unless it was a shout for help. Outside the doors to the infirmary, Lily and James stood watching their son and best friend, receiving sympathetic smiles from Severus, Remus and Minerva as they left. Remus took Bethany as he passed by, allowing them to focus on Harry and Sirius for the moment. Lily leaned against James, who held her close, both aching to be inside comforting their son.
Sirius rocked Harry gently, rubbing his back and muttering nonsense words in his ear. Harry calmed down after a while, snuggling into Sirius's arms. Sirius smiled and asked, "You alright now, love?"
Harry chuckled slightly before answering, "No, but I think I can handle being calm for the moment. Oh Merlin – Sirius, has someone told them about us?"
Sirius was going to answer when the door opened and someone else answered, "Before you start panicking, again, yes, someone did tell us about you two, and no, we aren't overly upset about it."
Sirius and Harry turned to see that it had been James who answered, and Lily was next to him nodding slightly in agreement. Sirius smiled slightly before saying, "James, Lily, I –"
Lily interrupted, "Sirius, you and Harry haven't exactly had easy lives from what I understand. This is going to take time for us to get used to, obviously, but we'll try. What little the two of us know about both of your lives, is from what Severus and Remus have told us."
Harry's hands were clutching at Sirius's robes in a slight death grip, as if someone was going to try to take Sirius away from him. Sirius's hand automatically started to rub soothing circles in Harry's lower back. James and Lily sat down across from Sirius and Harry on the bed next to Sirius's. James smiled at them both and asked, "So I hear I'm going to be a Grandfather?"
Harry nodded before grinning slightly, automatically moving a hand to his stomach as he explained, "The baby's due in twelve weeks."
Lily smiled somewhat wistfully before saying, "Then you're finally starting to enjoy being pregnant, right?"
Harry nodded and then a thought crossed his mind and he scowled slightly at Sirius before saying, "You know Padfoot, Poppy agreed with me about those doughnuts."
Sirius sighed before offering, "I'll stop on the way home, alright?"
Harry pouted slightly and Sirius threw his hands up slightly before saying, "Fine, fine, I'll go now if that's what you want. Honestly they're just doughnuts."
James innocently asked, "What's all this about doughnuts?"
Harry almost immediately explained the story to his parents, who were of course, sympathetic to their son. Within the next ten minutes James, Lily, Sirius and Harry were chatting as if they'd never been apart. Lily and James both told them about their daughter, Bethany, and promised to introduce her soon.
Harry and Sirius were thrilled, their child was going to have the chance to know Harry's parents. Lily and James had reluctantly agreed to move in with Sirius and Harry, if only for the world to get used to them being alive and to help with their grandchildren as they came along. All in all, things were looking up for the Potter family.
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A/N: This is a Harry/Sirius Slash story, mixed in with a Lily & James come back to life. It's timed to after Hogwarts & Voldemort's defeat. I'm thrilled at the response this is getting, and hope you all continue to like it. Keep reading!
Responses to Reviews:
Insanechildfanfic, Reese Craven, SiLvErFaTeD, GothicFairyRaven, TanisaFyre, HecateDeMort, Jen, Monica-Chan the Hanyou Kitsune, Quila, KORNfused Pyro, allexandrya, Incensio Lady, and Prongsblacks: I'm so glad you all like my story. Keep reading & reviewing!
Sirius' sweetie, Brian, and Caz Malfoy: Hopefully this answers the Lily & James question.
Madame-X: I'm so glad you have no other complaints. Sorry about the time thing – but life is sometimes fickle about being attended to.
Miranda Wecker: No more cliff hangers? How would I get people to read?
Mandiesnuffles: I aim to please! Glad I made your day happier with an update. Here's another one.
Sylvanus Snape: Yes I'm back. Funny you should mention family reunions – I've got one large one coming up next August (Not this year, but 2005), that I'm helping to plan. It's with 20 people from five different states and various needs/wants/desires. (I'm ready to put them all under the Imperius Curse and demand 'We will go here! There will be no complaining! Everyone will get along! And no one will let the little ones have anything they could possibly use as paint!') Of course, then my mother got this brilliant idea that she would completely re-vamp the living room (I still live at home). So, I'm in the middle of stripping all the walls, filling the nail holes, removing the wall paper boarder, and preparing to paint. I'm also watching my aunt's dog and trying to lose ten to fifteen pounds. (Perhaps it would help if I actually spent the hour I do at the gym actually doing something rather than watching television/reading/listening to music in stead of really working out) Thanks for asking how I'm doing though. And here's another update. :)
Feleda: I am honored that this is your first M-Preg! I have several others, and I urge you to read them as well! I don't have any on my favorites list, but they aren't hard to find on FFnet. (Just do a Harry/Snape or a Harry/Draco search & I can positively say you'll find at least a dozen). Keep reading!
Everyone else I'm forgetting – thank you for reading my story and I'm glad everyone that's reviewed so far enjoys it hope you all keep reading!
I know I was supposed to update last week – but I had a computer issue. I apologize for the delay, but as I nearly lost this chapter due to the computer issue – you're all very lucky it's here at all. As a result of the issue however, this is the only update this week. I apologize but it's been nearly ten days since I've been able to write at all because of the problem I was having. Sorry!
Review please!
(Try to keep negative comments to yourself unless they're constructive criticism please!)
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After the War
Chapter Six: Surprises
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Sirius and Harry were relaxing in the kitchen of their home in Godric's Hollow, eating a leisurely breakfast for the first time in weeks. Harry's pregnancy had finally allowed him to enjoy breakfast again and eating in general. Harry was showing, and almost literally glowing with happiness as he moved into his sixth month of pregnancy.
Sirius, on the other hand, looked as though he was barely getting enough sleep and was wearing himself out. Luckily the house-elves were able to handle Harry's food cravings, but between work and taking care of his husband, Sirius was slowly coming to the need for a serious vacation. Harry smiled over the copy of the Daily Prophet he was reading, watching Sirius shift through their morning owl post.
Sirius came to one letter and frowned briefly before putting aside the others to read it. Harry saw and asked almost immediately, "Siri? What is it?"
Sirius bit his lip before he explained, "It's a letter from Minerva. It's like the letters from the war though, no funny explanations or invitation. All it says is, 'Sirius, Come to Hogwarts, preferably without Harry, at the first available moment you have. The password to my office is currently 'Dancing Tea Cups'."
Harry frowned, that did sound a lot like things they'd received during the war – and those weren't good kinds of letters. Harry bit his lip and said gently, "Well, hopefully nothing's happened, but we should go over there immediately. You don't need to be at work for anything specific today, do you?"
Sirius shook his head and replied, "No, I'll go fire-call Fletcher and let him know I won't be in. Are you sure you want to come with, love?"
Harry nodded and said, "Of course I do, if nothing else while you talk to Minerva, I'll go talk to Remus or Draco, or someone that has a free period I guess. Besides, it'd be nice to just see the castle at the moment."
Sirius smiled and got up, leaving to fire-call Mundungus Fletcher from the study, kissing Harry on the forehead as he went. Harry finished up his breakfast, steadfastly ignoring the throngs of house-elves busily working in the house. The elves were excited to have another 'Master' as they hoped it meant more work for them to do. Admittedly, both Sirius and Harry realized they really didn't have enough for their elves to do, and shipped them off around their family and friends so they would have something to do.
Harry made his way up the stairs, slowly of course, and to the master bedroom so that he could slip into more comfortable robes. Ten minutes later, Harry entered the study, where Mundungus and Sirius were still talking about something or other, in his newest set of paternity robes, a shimmering navy blue that swirled and distracted others from noticing his bulging stomach.
Mundungus smiled at him and said, "Hello there Harry! How are you feeling?"
Harry smiled back and said, "Hello Mundungus, I'm alright, and so is the baby, thanks for asking."
Mundungus grinned slightly and nodded before saying, "Wonderful news! Anyhow, Sirius, Harry, I best be going. Take care, and get plenty of rest now Harry, we're all looking forward to seeing that little one!"
Sirius and Mundungus ended the call, and shortly there after both men were flooing to Hogsmeade. Sirius went first, and barely managed to catch Harry as he came out on the other end. Harry smiled gratefully at his husband, who kissed him in return, before they both straightened out slightly and started to make their way towards Hogwarts.
They walked slowly and with their arms wrapped around one another, stopping once in a while when they felt a flutter from Harry's stomach. So nearly two hours later, when they arrived at the entrance to the castle, they weren't surprised when Athena Malfoy was waiting for them. She wasn't smiling however and ignored Harry as she asked, "Sirius, why did you bring Harry with you? Minerva specifically requested that you come alone, did she not?"
Sirius raised an eyebrow, while Harry looked indignant at being discussed right in front of himself. Sirius frowned and then asked, "What, exactly, is going on? Harry thought he'd tag along and chit-chat with everyone else while I'm talking with Minerva."
Athena sighed slightly and then nodded and said, "Alright, Sirius, you go on ahead then. Harry, why don't you and I go see Damien, Alexandra and Stewart, ey?"
Harry smiled and let himself be dragged away with Athena towards his godchildren. Sirius watched him leave for a moment before turning and heading towards Minerva's office. Sirius gave the password and entered without knocking and of course without bothering to look at anyone in the room. He immediately demanded, "What the hell is going on that is so important I couldn't tell my own husband about it?"
Minerva frowned, cleared her throat and said calmly, "Mr. Potter, I do rea –"
A voice interrupted, "Potter? Minerva, are you blind? That's Sirius Black."
Minerva sighed and said, "Yes, I realize that Mr. Potter – James – however, that is not his name any longer. Sirius, come in and sit down. I've had a very long week, and you'll have to help me break this news to Harry, what with his current state and all."
Sirius looked around the office, and realized with rather wide eyes that Minerva had been talking to James Potter, who was technically his Father-in- law at the moment, not just his very good but supposed to be deceased best friend. Next to James was a woman who could be no other than Lily Potter, holding a small child who looked to be an exact replica of Lily – right down to the eyes.
So Sirius did the only thing he could have done in that sort of a situation. One were you realize your supposedly dead best friend is about to find out that you're not only shagging, but married to and knocked up their only son, who was your godson last they knew. Sirius passed out in a dead faint.
Minerva sighed and said, "Damn it. I wanted him to help me explain things to everyone. Remus – you explain – Severus will you fire-call Athena and let her know to contact Harry? I'll take Sirius down to Poppy. Do tell Athena it's nothing serious and keep in mind Harry's fragile state before you blurt something incredibly stupid out Severus."
Severus snorted and said, "Minerva, I'm hardly that unintelligent."
Minerva sighed, pointed her wand at Sirius and started to levitate him towards the Hospital Wing. Of course, that was when the door burst open and Draco Malfoy burst in the room. He looked at the scene and said, "Oh, lovely he passed out. His husband felt the shock from clear across the castle, and went into hysterics. Athena's brought him to the Hospital Wing; he thought something was wrong with the baby."
Minerva sighed again and said, "Severus, never mind. You help Remus, Draco, and take that lunatic to the hospital wing. Use a silencing charm so he doesn't further upset the poor dear. I'll come with you of course."
Draco nodded, took over the charm on Sirius and started to leave the office, Minerva following him. Lily and James blinked and turned to Remus and Severus. Lily cleared her throat and asked, "What the hell is going on around here?"
Remus sighed and said, "Well, while we spent the entire week ensuring that you were actually Lily and James, we haven't really explained what's happened here. You see, things are a bit complicated. Harry lived through the attack of course – you knew that much. Voldemort did not survive the attack fully in tact. Harry managed to deflect the curse, weakening Voldemort severely."
Severus added helpfully, "Thus making the brat famous and known to all the Wizarding World. He spent his childhood with the filthiest Muggles imaginable – your sister and her husband, Lily – who had a son they doted on while they practically abused Harry. Though we didn't know about any of that until his Fifth Year here. I personally hexed both, and made a few Potions to ensure they, uh, were uncomfortable for a few days."
Remus snorted and said, "Sev, you made their skin turn a bright blinking orange, turned their hair into serpents, had them vomiting and experiencing the worst pains imaginable for days. It took the Ministry a week to sort out what Severus had done to them – though they couldn't very well trace it back to him. And then Sirius of course had a go at them, scared the hell out of them before turning them into mice and sending them to Arabella Figg's house – who still has that little affinity for cats."
James frowned and asked, "Why didn't Sirius raise him?"
Severus had to explain, as Remus stood and looked out the window. Severus sighed and said, "Pettigrew managed to frame Sirius for killing himself and twelve Muggles. Pettigrew faked his own death, and hid with a Wizarding family as a rat for twelve years. Sirius spent those years locked up in Azkaban without a trial, accused of that and being a Death Eater as no one knew you'd switched Secret Keepers."
Lily gasped, and James stood, pacing slightly, as Severus continued, "You see, twelve years later – Harry's third year at Hogwarts – Sirius managed to escape after seeing a picture of Pettigrew's rat form with the Weasley family. Sirius managed to figure that as their family was notoriously Gryffindors that Pettigrew had unlimited access to Harry, and no one knew about it. So being the over protective idiot that he is, he escaped and went after Pettigrew."
Remus broke in here by saying, "Albus came to me that summer, just after Sirius escaped. He wanted someone who knew him here to watch out for Harry. It helped Harry and I get to know one another at the least, and made it so that both of us learned of Sirius's innocence at the same time. There was little we could do however, as Pettigrew managed to escape before we could get him to Dumbledore. Harry was devastated, as were Sirius and I."
Severus smiled sadly and said, "I have to admit, it's partially my fault. I didn't know Pettigrew was there though, had no idea he was an animagus. Harry and his friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Taneli – then Granger – teamed up and out right attacked me in Sirius's defense. Though I daresay they were more upset about possible harm coming to Remus at the time."
Remus chuckled and said, "Well, possibly. Anyway, we were unable to clear Sirius's name until after Harry had finished Hogwarts. Voldemort managed to re-gain his body during Harry's fourth year – please don't ask him about it, we'll give you details later – and started a full out war against the Wizarding World. Harry moved into a nice home in Godric's Hollow after he graduated. He married a lovely witch – Sally-Anne Perks, and they had a child almost immediately."
Lily smiled at that and was about to ask something when Remus held up his hand and continued, "Their daughter was named Jasmine Lily, and she was a delightful little girl. Six weeks after her birth, Sally-Anne and Jasmine were captured. Pettigrew himself tortured both to death, and when Harry found out it nearly destroyed him. He murdered Pettigrew in return before demanding the Ministry clear Sirius's name."
James and Lily both looked lost for words at that, and Severus said rather gently, "Harry has managed to move on from that. He's only recently married once more – bonded this time actually, and I have to say I've never seen him so happy."
Remus added on for James and Lily's benefit, "Voldemort was defeated nearly three years ago by Harry; of course he refuses to take the credit for it. Albus died helping Harry with Voldemort's final defeat, and Harry refuses to take all the credit for that. He's rather insistent that every minor person involved receives credit. He'd make a wonderful Minister, but he absolutely loathes politics."
James asked, "Who exactly is Harry married to?"
Remus and Severus exchanged a glance before Remus said quietly, "Harry and his husband have both been through hell in their lives, and are happy for possibly the first time with one another. Harry's expecting their first child; he's six months along in his pregnancy."
Lily suddenly exclaimed, "Sirius! Sirius and Harry are married – that's what no one wants to tell us!"
Severus nodded and replied, "Loath though I am to admit it, they rather deserve one another. And if you mess this up – so help me Merlin – it took the group of us nearly a year after Voldemort's defeat to find a way to get them to admit to their feelings. I'll be the first in a long line of people hexing you for taking away the first peaceful time happiness either has had in their lives since the pair of you were killed."
Lily and James both frowned before looking at one another and then back at Severus and Remus. James sighed and asked, "Might we meet our son?"
Remus frowned and then said, "I think it would be better if we waited for Minerva and Sirius to return. Harry isn't exactly in his right mind now – and when Sirius is floated into the Hospital Wing I'm quite sure he'll just become more hysterical until someone explains what's going on – which Minerva won't allow anyone other than Sirius to do. That was why we hadn't contacted Harry."
Severus snorted slightly and said, "More like none of us wanted to deal with a Wizard like Harry both upset and in protective mode. Your son happens to be a force to be reckoned with – Voldemort himself didn't like going up against him. Watching the final battle between Albus, Harry and Voldemort was rather amusing if not for Albus's death. I do believe Voldemort was shaking slightly with fear."
Remus smiled at the memory of seeing Voldemort shaking before Albus and Harry, before clearing his throat and saying, "Well, I suppose we could go check on them. Lily and James if you could just stay out of sight, then you could come with I suppose."
They nodded in agreement, and the four slowly made their way to the Hospital Wing. Remus and Severus talked quietly on the way down to the Hospital Wing about what was going on, and how to deal with showing but not really showing Lily and James that Harry was alright. James and Lily walked behind them, with their arms around one another and their daughter, not quite sure how to deal with the information they'd learned so far.
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Meanwhile. . . .
Harry and Athena had gone to Athena's office, where Draco and the kids were waiting. Draco was grading papers, while Stewart napped in his Daddy's arms, and Damien and Alexandra were playing amongst themselves on the floor with their toy wands. Harry smiled at his godchildren and best friend before saying, "Hello everyone, having fun?"
Damien looked up and exclaimed, "Uncle Harry!"
Alexandra squealed and ran over with Damien to say hello, both hugging Harry hello as best they could with Harry's stomach bulging slightly between them. Draco looked up and frowned slightly before asking, "Harry? What are you doing here? I thought Minerva only sent for Sirius?"
Harry frowned and asked, "What is going on around here anyway? You all are trying to hide something from me and I'd rather like to know what's going on."
Damien and Alexandra went back to their toys, ignoring the adults now that they'd said hello to Uncle Harry. Draco bit his lip, and Athena answered, "We just wanted to explain the situation to Sirius, and have him explain it to you. We just felt that it would come better from him, rather than us."
Harry thought about it and sighed before replying, "Alright, must be bad news than. How's everything with you two then?"
Athena smiled and said, "Stewart seems to be close to crawling from what I can –"
Harry felt a wave of Sirius's panicked, shocked, horrified emotions come through him and jolted slightly, and made the baby kick him rather forcefully. Harry gasped and held his stomach; suddenly terrified that something was wrong. Draco and Athena both asked, "Are you alright Harry?"
Harry shook his head and started to hyperventilate slightly before saying, "S-some-things w-wrong."
Athena took Stewart from Draco and said, "Draco, go get Minerva and Sirius, we'll meet you at the hospital wing. Damien, Alexandra, come with Uncle Harry and I please."
Damien and Alexandra seemed to know something was wrong, and didn't object to walking quickly towards the Hospital Wing with Athena, Stewart and Harry. Draco took off running towards the Headmistress's office, with one last look at his best friend, wife and children. Athena, Damien, Alexandra, Stewart and Harry made it to the Hospital Wing fairly quickly.
Harry was still hyperventilating slightly, and holding his stomach, worried out of his mind. Poppy took one look at him before saying, "Harry, sit down over there please. What's wrong dear?"
Athena explained, "We're not sure exactly."
Poppy nodded and started a full examination before saying; "I think you should just lay here calmly for a while, Harry. Is your husband around?"
Athena answered quickly, "He's with Minerva, and our uh, guests."
Poppy frowned, and finished quickly before saying, "Alright then. Just lay here like I said, Athena can tell Sirius about it later."
Poppy walked off, leaving Harry, Athena and the kids alone while she worked on various re-stocking lists and inventories. Alexandra and Damien were sitting on the bed next to Harry, waiting patiently for their turn to leave. Athena was holding Stewart and sitting in a rocking chair in-between the two beds. Harry closed his eyes, trying to relax a bit more than he already was.
They'd been there not more than five minutes when the doors opened, drawing the small group's attention and Draco and Minerva came in, Sirius floating in-between them. Harry saw them, and his eyes widened before he scrambled to sit up and nearly shrieked, "Sirius! What happened to him!?"
Draco and Minerva seemed to sigh in unison before Draco snickered slightly and Minerva explained, "Your husband had a bit of shock is all. He fainted."
Harry relaxed slightly before asking, "You are sure he's alright, aren't you?"
Draco rolled his eyes and said, "Would I lie to you?"
Harry just looked at Draco, who threw his hands up in the air and said, "Alright, alright already! So I would lie to you – but not about your husband's health!"
The doors opened again and Remus and Severus came in. Harry smiled and exclaimed, "Moony! Severus! How are you two? Where's Tatiana?"
Remus and Severus smiled before Remus replied, "We're both fine thank you Harry. Tatiana is with Neville and Frank right now. How's the baby?"
Harry smiled and said, "Just fine according to Madam Pomfrey –"
He was about to go on when he heard Poppy bark from where she was examining Sirius, "Harry Potter! I did not just hear you call me 'Madam Pomfrey'! I told you to call me Poppy back in your fifth year!"
Harry winced slightly and replied, "Sorry Poppy."
Remus, Severus and Draco snickered slightly at that. Athena rolled her eyes and said, "Well Harry darling, I need to get these darlings of mine and that little ferret of a husband of mine back to our rooms. Do control your Mutt when he regains consciousness, will you?"
Harry rolled his eyes and said, "Only if you put that ferret on a leash."
Athena chuckled, and both ignored Draco's indignant spluttering. Athena smiled and turned to her kids before saying, "Damien, Alexandra, say goodbye to Uncle Harry."
Both toned nearly in unison, "Bye Uncle Harry!"
Harry smiled and gave them both hugs before saying, "Be good for your Mum, give your Dad hell."
Damien and Alexandra nodded seriously before leaving with Athena, who was chuckling slightly while adjusting Stewart. Draco frowned at Harry and said, "Do you have to be such an incredibly bad influence on my children, Potter?"
Harry raised an eyebrow before asking, "Are you implying you'll act differently towards my child, and the possible children that might come along after this one, Malfoy?"
Draco pouted and sighed before saying, "I hate you, you know that right?"
Harry chuckled and said, "Yes, yes, I hate you too. Now run along – you shouldn't leave Athena alone with three children you know. Especially active children who have been brainwashed by their godfather to misbehave for their Dad."
Draco glared, turned to leave and muttered over his shoulder rather darkly, "See you in hell, Potter."
Harry just giggled watching Draco storm out of the room. Remus and Severus sat down next to Harry and Severus said, "I'm just glad you don't pull that crap with Tatiana."
Harry smiled and said, "I only do that with them because it pisses Draco off. It wouldn't piss Moony off – and you'd slip some sort of potion into my food. I'm not stupid. Rash sometimes, yes, pigheaded sometimes, yes, slightly slow sometimes, definitely, but stupid? Oh no, I'm not stupid."
Remus snorted and said, "Slightly slow? How long, exactly, did it take you to realize you were in love with Sirius?"
Harry frowned, and looked thoughtful before answering, "Uh, well. I knew it on a subconscious level in my Fifth year here. Consciously though? Right after Sally-Anne and I got married I realized it. More so when Jasmine was born – I couldn't help thinking it should have been Sirius in the room with me, instead of Sally-Anne. Sometimes I wonder where my brain was during those couple years."
Remus and Severus smiled sadly at Harry before Severus carefully said, "I think we were all caught up in the war Harry. You and Sally-Anne especially. Hard as it is to think about it, and talk about it for you, you have to remember that at the time you two loved one another. Besides, you're with Sirius now, and instead of focusing on what-ifs and might-have- beens, focus on your husband and that child of yours."
Harry smiled and chuckled before saying, "You keep giving that kind of advice Severus, and we're all going to have to start calling you Albus."
Poppy interrupted any retort Severus might have had by saying, "Harry-dear, I'm going to revive your husband now. Do you want him to have a calming potion before I do so?"
Harry bit his lip and said, "I don't know, Severus, Remus, what do you think?"
Remus and Severus exchanged a glance before shaking their heads at Harry; Sirius would deal with the situation now, or risk hurting himself and Harry more later on. Harry nodded and said, "Then no Poppy, just wake the lazy lout up."
Poppy chuckled and asked, "Lazy lout?"
Harry pouted and said, "All I asked for was a fresh box of doughnuts! And instead of apparating to an open store, he made the house-elves make me some of theirs. They just aren't the same! I wanted some of those yummy Krispy Kremes he brought home after that trip he took to the states a few weeks ago, but noooo he's too lazy to get his pregnant husband a well deserved treat!"
Poppy nodded her agreement and said, "And what did you punish the lazy lout with?"
Harry smiled that someone was in agreement with him before saying, "I made him sleep in his doghouse for a week of course. You know I made that a condition for his marriage proposal, wouldn't say yes until he'd promised to bring a doghouse with him to the house. He's only been off punishment for two days now, but I think he's learned his lesson."
Poppy practically cooed to the younger man, "Oh dear, I don't think that's long enough! What he did was totally inexcusable! How hard could it have possibly been for him to apparate just to pick up a few measly doughnuts?"
Remus felt vague sympathy for Harry, Severus hadn't been all too helpful either when he'd been pregnant, but he didn't say anything. Severus on the other hand piped up, "Now wait a minute here, I never thought I'd say this, but I think Sirius had been punished quite enough. After all it's not like you two are using that bed of yours for anything other than sleep now is it?"
Harry smiled dreamily and answered, "Oh no – you see my hormones have been absolutely out of control this past month. Sometimes I'm surprised Sirius doesn't walk around with a cooling charm on himself."
Severus blanched and Remus and Poppy nodded understandingly. Remus smiled at the younger man and said, "I'm the same way just before the moon is full."
Poppy interrupted what could have become a long conversation by reviving Sirius. Sirius blinked slightly before he asked groggily, "Griff?"
Harry took Sirius's hand in his and used the other to brush Sirius's hair off his forehead, smiling at the older Wizard. Sirius smiled back as Harry said, "I'm right here, Love."
Sirius sighed slightly and Harry leaned down, kissing his husband gently on the lips before asking, "Are you alright Padfoot?"
Sirius nodded and frowned slightly before saying, "I had the weirdest dream –"
Remus interrupted, "Sirius – that wasn't a dream. Harry hasn't been told yet, we wanted you to explain to him. Minerva, Severus and I especially felt it would be easier for Harry to hear coming from you."
Sirius's eyes went wide and he sat up on the bed before saying, "Alright. Might I ask how this is possible?"
Severus explained, "Apparently there was a slight potions mishap a few years ago by one of Riddle's followers. It wasn't meant to bring them back the way they are, which is the way they were before only aged correctly. Riddle ordered them to be destroyed, but as Pettigrew saw it as a chance to redeem himself; he gave them a portkey to somewhere in Canada where there wasn't anyone around for miles. It took them nearly six years to find a way they could get here without causing massive panic in the Wizarding World, or alerting the wrong people of their location."
Harry frowned as he sat down next to Sirius, who automatically put his arms around Harry protectively, before he asked, "So someone has been brought back to life, and though Riddle wanted to use them as some sort of controlled Zombie, he instead found himself with two or more individually thinking persons?"
Severus nodded in response and then watched the two men figure things out between themselves. Sirius pulled Harry closer and leaned even more towards Harry before he said gently, "Harry, the baby needs you to stay calm right now, I need you to as well, but if you don't stay calm then the baby is at risk. And we don't want that to happen, I don't want to lose either one of you, so I'm asking you to stay calm, and try to think about this rationally, instead of emotionally, please?"
Harry blinked and looked at his normally not quite 'serious' husband before slowly nodding. Whatever this was, Harry knew things were about to get out of control – very out of control. Sirius sent soothing emotions through their bond, hoping that it would help, as he knew that right now he didn't have time to panic over the newly found not exactly dead friends, not when Harry and the baby needed him to be the strong one right now.
Sirius took a deep breath, steeled himself slightly, and said, "Darling, the people that we're talking about, are your parents."
Harry blinked, looked at Sirius, then Severus, then Remus, then Minerva and finally Poppy before deciding on a way to respond. He burst out laughing – hysterically – with tears rolling down his cheeks, until his stomach hurt and he was gasping for air. Of course, then he did the exact opposite, burst into tears and nearly threw himself against Sirius's chest, howling slightly into the hard chest and fighting against the warm embrace that Sirius offered him silently.
When Harry started to cry, Severus, Remus and Minerva left, knowing that Harry and Sirius needed to be alone right then more than anything else. Poppy stayed close in case there was a problem, but well out of hearing range unless it was a shout for help. Outside the doors to the infirmary, Lily and James stood watching their son and best friend, receiving sympathetic smiles from Severus, Remus and Minerva as they left. Remus took Bethany as he passed by, allowing them to focus on Harry and Sirius for the moment. Lily leaned against James, who held her close, both aching to be inside comforting their son.
Sirius rocked Harry gently, rubbing his back and muttering nonsense words in his ear. Harry calmed down after a while, snuggling into Sirius's arms. Sirius smiled and asked, "You alright now, love?"
Harry chuckled slightly before answering, "No, but I think I can handle being calm for the moment. Oh Merlin – Sirius, has someone told them about us?"
Sirius was going to answer when the door opened and someone else answered, "Before you start panicking, again, yes, someone did tell us about you two, and no, we aren't overly upset about it."
Sirius and Harry turned to see that it had been James who answered, and Lily was next to him nodding slightly in agreement. Sirius smiled slightly before saying, "James, Lily, I –"
Lily interrupted, "Sirius, you and Harry haven't exactly had easy lives from what I understand. This is going to take time for us to get used to, obviously, but we'll try. What little the two of us know about both of your lives, is from what Severus and Remus have told us."
Harry's hands were clutching at Sirius's robes in a slight death grip, as if someone was going to try to take Sirius away from him. Sirius's hand automatically started to rub soothing circles in Harry's lower back. James and Lily sat down across from Sirius and Harry on the bed next to Sirius's. James smiled at them both and asked, "So I hear I'm going to be a Grandfather?"
Harry nodded before grinning slightly, automatically moving a hand to his stomach as he explained, "The baby's due in twelve weeks."
Lily smiled somewhat wistfully before saying, "Then you're finally starting to enjoy being pregnant, right?"
Harry nodded and then a thought crossed his mind and he scowled slightly at Sirius before saying, "You know Padfoot, Poppy agreed with me about those doughnuts."
Sirius sighed before offering, "I'll stop on the way home, alright?"
Harry pouted slightly and Sirius threw his hands up slightly before saying, "Fine, fine, I'll go now if that's what you want. Honestly they're just doughnuts."
James innocently asked, "What's all this about doughnuts?"
Harry almost immediately explained the story to his parents, who were of course, sympathetic to their son. Within the next ten minutes James, Lily, Sirius and Harry were chatting as if they'd never been apart. Lily and James both told them about their daughter, Bethany, and promised to introduce her soon.
Harry and Sirius were thrilled, their child was going to have the chance to know Harry's parents. Lily and James had reluctantly agreed to move in with Sirius and Harry, if only for the world to get used to them being alive and to help with their grandchildren as they came along. All in all, things were looking up for the Potter family.
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