Title: Baby Boom! 2/18
Author: Mariann
Rating: R
Pairing: Sirius/Remus
Category: Between Fluff, Fun and Fighting
Summary: Sirius and Remus grow up, find love, start a family and fight the Dark Lord
Disclaimer: Belongs to JKR - no money's made from my poor attempts at writing
A/N: AU - The Willow Incident does not happen in this story. Peter is loyal and a spy for Dumbledore. Remus and Sirius are destined to fight Voldemort - will they succeed? A fair amount of children are born in this story - to spite the Death Eaters of course!
2. Off to school!
Remus was accompanied to the train by his complete family, who saw to it that he was settled comfortably in a compartment and all wished him a good trip and a great start.
"You'll do great, cub! And you'll love it there, just don't hide yourself too much, will you?" Richard Jr. told Remus.
"I'll try, okay?"
"Very good! I want to see some owls now and then, is that clear?"
"Yes, sir!"
Remus was alone in his compartment for the better part of the trip. He didn't mind at all, as he had something to read which kept him happy and occupied enough. He got changed to the school robes and had just finished that when two boys stormed into his compartment.
"Sorry, do you mind if we hide out here for a while?" they asked and giggled.
He looked at them. Both seemed to be around his age, even if both of them were considerably taller.
"No, I don't mind," he said, "why do you need to hide?"
"Oh, we just planted a dungbomb in the compartment of Sirius' evil cousins. Now they're on a rampage. I'm sure they'll turn up here soon, but I've got something to hide us. You just need to say you're alone!" one of the boys replied.
"Who's Sirius?" Remus asked.
"That would be me. Sirius Black. What's your name?"
Sirius held out his hand and Remus took it.
"Remus Lupin."
"You look too small for a first year. But you are a first year, aren't you?" Sirius asked.
"Yes, I am. You too?"
"Yep!"
The other boy pulled a silvery piece of fabric out of his pocket and said:
"Come on, Siri, there's no time for flirting, let's get hidden!"
He covered both of them with the fabric and Remus' eyes widened as he saw them vanish. From underneath he heard the other boy's voice:
"By the way, I'm James Potter. You're not going to give us away, will you?"
"No, I won't, but if you don't want to give yourself away then you should shut up!"
"Will do!"
The 'evil cousins' came and passed and passed again, but the two boys weren't visible, so they left. For the rest of the trip Sirius and James stayed under the Invisibility Cloak, but finally they left to gather their stuff and Remus saw them again from far when they left the train and were called over to Hagrid, who took them across the lake. Remus wasn't near the two boys at the Sorting, but he watched as Sirius was sent to Gryffindor. To his astonishment he saw that all the teachers ware staring after Sirius, whose cousin Bellatrix had just been sorted to Slytherin.
Sirius seemed astonished himself, but he dropped the hat on the stool and walked over to the Gryffindor table, where he wasn't welcomed especially warmly. He didn't seem to care though and followed the Sorting with interest. Two girls were sorted into Gryffindor and then it was Remus' turn. He put the hat on his head. It whistled.
"Well, hello there, young master Lupin. I've already had the pleasure to sort four siblings of yours, I thought I was through with your family."
"There's two more after me. But it will take a while," Remus thought.
"Ah, well. Now, what to do with you? All of your siblings were difficult to place, you know? You're a bunch of highly individual people, oh yes, you are! But there is a lot of potential in your head, you do like to learn, don't you?"
"I do. I love to read."
"And you are so very brave to face this school and the great handicap of your life... is that a bit of mischief I detect there? Hm. Now it gets easier. I think you'd be perfectly well placed in GRYFFINDOR!"
Remus grinned when he pulled the hat off his head and joined the table to a great amount of applause. He sat down next to Sirius.
"Hey there, Remus! Wouldn't have thought to be in the same house as you are, but I think it's great!"
"Hi Sirius. I'm happy to be here. Would have liked Ravenclaw, too, but this is just fine."
"Your family in Ravenclaw?"
"My mother and sister. Dad's been in Gryffindor."
"You have a sister here?"
"Left Hogwarts. I'm a late arrival in the family."
"Oh."
"And you? Happy to be here or would you have preferred another house?"
"'m not sure yet. They don't really like me. You've got a much better welcome."
"I was wondering why..."
"Well, I'm sure it's because I'm a Black."
"And?" Remus asked, puzzled.
"They're all Slytherins. You saw my cousin before..."
"Bellatrix? That's your cousin?"
"Unfortunately. She's a real pest."
"So you would have liked to be in Slytherin?"
"No! I'm glad I'm not one of them. My 'home' is enough of a dungeon, I don't need that at school on top of that. I hear, Gryffindor is somewhere up in the castle."
Remus nodded.
"Yes, it's in a tower."
"Sounds great."
"They'll get used to you. I mean, as long as you don't go and hex them all the time they'll learn to know you, won't they?"
"I hope so. I was glad enough to escape from home."
The two boys warmed up to each other soon and their friendship developed to a really close relationship over the next few years. Remus only regretted that he wasn't able to invite Sirius to his home over the summer breaks, because Sirius' parents made sure he was safely inside of their house, almost locked up. For five years the boys were close friends. Just before the end of their fifth year Sirius inherited half of the fortune of his great uncle Alphard's and was able to cut his family off from putting their hands on his inheritance with the help of his great uncle's lawyers. But this led to a huge row between Sirius and his parents. Sirius broke all ties with his family and left his home with his possessions. He went straight to James Potter, his best friend since the boys had gone to primary school together.
The Potters didn't even ask questions; when Sirius turned up on their doorstep they took him in, pampered him until he stopped shaking and only then they gently started to find out what had happened at Grimmauld Place. Sirius told them:
"They were outraged because my great uncle left a lot of money to me and my cousin Andromeda. She's the other one in my generation who didn't behave like a 'true' Black - she married a Muggle-born, Ted Tonks. James might have told you. Well, they tried to get their hands on my inheritance and I sought help from uncle Alphard's lawyers. Anyway, they couldn't take it away from me and the will also stated that it was to come to my full use as soon as I got it. I left the Gringotts key at the lawyers to make sure my parents couldn't take it from me forcibly. And all of that made them slightly miffed at me..."
James snorted. He could easily translate 'slightly miffed' to 'absolutely pissed off'.
"You mean, they were in a murderous mood, don't you?" he asked.
"Well, yes, at least close. Father thought it was enough if he hexed me around a bit. When I wouldn't back down he picked up some help. And then they started screaming at me that I would never become a proper follower of the Dark Lord if I kept up that mutinous behaviour of mine and bla and bla... you can imagine the drivel. And of course I screamed back that I wouldn't ever become a follower of their stupid Dark Lord anyway and the row turned out a bit nasty. So I packed and left. I'll have to find a flat now..."
"You stay here as long as you're at Hogwarts, Sirius. There is no way you're going to get a flat of your own before you're of age next year," Mr. Potter said.
Sirius smiled. For the first time in his life he was out of Grimmauld Place and he had been mighty glad for the Knight Bus to have taken him right to the doorstep of the Potters. James tugged on his sleeve and said:
"Well, now that that's settled, let me take you up and give you a room. You can have the one next to mine!"
While the boys picked up Sirius' trunk and owl cage and rushed upstairs, discussing Quidditch, Martha and Oliver Potter looked after them and wondered, if they would receive the visit of Sirius' angry relatives soon.
Nothing happened though. A fact that astonished James' parents. Oliver Potter decided to talk to Sirius' father, but he was told rudely that the Blacks had washed their hands of such a disgrace of a son. Oliver Potter took this as a clear indication that Sirius was free from his family. He would turn seventeen in October, so Oliver Potter thought it could be overlooked that he had no guardian until then. He did inform Minerva McGonagall that Sirius was now living at his place though.
James thought it was brilliant, that Sirius was with him. For the first time in their friendship the boys spent time outside of school with each other and of course James immediately thought of inviting Remus and Peter for a few weeks. His parents allowed it. Only minutes later, two owls fluttered into the night with a letter to Remus and another to Peter.
Remus came down to breakfast the next morning and found the letter. Rupert and Rowland were already up and ate their breakfast. Remus, being a bit older, liked to sleep in during his vacations.
"Good morning, cub. Did you sleep well?" Venetia asked.
"Morning, mum. Yes, I did, thank you."
"There's a letter for you. Sirius' owl brought it."
Remus smiled. Venetia loved to see that bright smile on her son's face every time a letter from one of his friends arrived. Though the smile was always the brightest when it was a letter from Sirius. Remus picked it up and read it.
"Sirius has left his home, mum! He's at James' and the Potters have taken him in! They're inviting me for a few weeks. Can I go?"
"After the full moon, love."
"That's on the ninth."
"I know. You'll have to rest for the day though, but I'll allow you to go in the late afternoon."
Remus hugged his mother and thanked her.
"Thanks, mum! - Come upstairs with me, Silas, I'll give you a letter to take back to Siri!"
"Breakfast first, young man, I want to clear the table!"
"Can I take it up with me?"
"Only if you promise to bring the dishes back down."
"Sure!"
Remus picked up a few pieces of buttered toast and a couple of rashes of bacon, his cup of hot chocolate and dashed up the stairs.
"Can I go, too, mum?" asked Rupert.
"Yes, love, if you've quite finished."
"Yeah... I'd like to go and play."
"Fine, go outside, but stay in the garden, please. And take Rowland with you!"
"Okay. Come, Rowland. We can play broom tag, maybe even Remus helps playing later..."
The boys vanished to the garden and Remus saw them moments later on their brooms. He wrote his letter to Sirius and added an extra letter to the Potters, that he would be allowed to come to their place on the tenth of August to the end of the vacation. He added both letters to Silas' legs and the owl took off, back across the country to the Potters.
Time flew and soon the dreaded full moon night came up again. It was summer, so Rowland and Rupert were already sent to bed before Remus had to go down to the cellar. Richard and Venetia hugged him as they always did when he was at home for a transformation, then Remus went inside, only dressed in a bathrobe, which he took off and deposited on a shelf high on the wall. He sighed when he sat down. For more than ten years he had transformed into the wolf now. One hundred and thirty full moons ago he had received the bite. He wondered how many more he would survive. He didn't remember the nights once they were over, but he knew that it got harder to transform as the wolf was growing up inside of him. Remus had had his growth spurts in the meantime, he wasn't the smallest in the family anymore. The pain was only worse.
Venetia found a very bloodied boy on the mattress in the cellar the next morning. It had been hard, but she had learned to stay away from the cellar during Remus' transformations, because he was only more agitated when he smelled someone outside of the door. He missed his friends. For four full moons he had been with them since they had transformed for the first time just after Christmas of the last school year. And even though his memories of the nights were hazy he knew that the wolf had been a lot calmer. He smiled, thinking of his big black dog, whom he regarded as his own puppy. Sirius was so cute, even though he looked like a ferocious beast, a churchyard grim. But he couldn't hide being an overgrown playful puppy in reality. Remus couldn't stop himself the first time he'd seen Sirius, who had flopped down and rolled to show his belly to be scratched, he had to comply.
But now he was back in the cellar at home and the transformations had been as bad as any before. Venetia healed the wounds, then she levitated her son up to his bathroom and right into the hot water, where he stretched out and sighed. He was glad he didn't have to walk up the stairs. Venetia helped him wash up and rinsed his hair. Then she helped him to bed, where he fell asleep and didn't wake up for six hours. Rupert brought him soup and bread up and shared some pumpkin juice with his big brother.
"Hey! Up to something to eat, Rem?" he asked.
"Mhm. Thanks, Roop!"
Rupert had just received his Hogwarts letter a few days before.
"Mum said, we'd go shopping tomorrow. I can't wait, Remus! What house do you think I'll be in?"
"Hm, no idea, Roop! Where would you like to go?"
"You and Roxanne and Julia were all in Gryffindor. I think it'd be way cool if I got in there, too."
"Well, you'll see. You might, you know! The hat is pretty cool."
Remus spooned his soup and ate some of the homemade bread. His mother liked to cook and bake, so the family was always spoiled with lots of good food. The pot-au-feu tasted very nice, too. Remus fished out a section of a marrow bone and beamed. He spread the marrow over the bread, sprinkled a little salt on top and bit into the crunchy bread.
"Yum! There's not much over mum's pot-au-feu!" he said.
"I like lots of other things much better."
"You'll love the Hogwarts food! It's great, too."
Remus finished his meal and Rupert took the tray back down to the kitchen. Remus turned around in the bed and slept for another three hours. Venetia checked on him just before dinner. He looked well enough, so she said:
"If you get dressed and come down I'll inform Martha that you're coming before dinner..."
"Yay! Thanks a lot, mum!"
She grinned. He was out of the bed in an instant and jumped over to his dresser to get some fresh clothes. They had packed a suitcase with summer clothes and his Hogwarts trunk. Remus would be allowed to stay until the vacation ended and Martha would hand the suitcase with the summer clothes to Venetia when they met at Platform 9 3/4. She went back down and floo called the Potters. Martha was there.
"Hello, Martha. Remus has slept out now and he's ready to floo over. I'll take his suitcase and apparate, okay? He'll be down in a moment..."
"Hello, Venetia! That's fine. James and Sirius are waiting for him. Unfortunately Peter had to leave again last Saturday, his family had a vacation abroad planned, so he couldn't stay until Remus comes."
"Oh well, that's certainly better for you! I'm sure it's a handful to have the boys there..."
"It's fun, too. Sirius is a nice boy. I got to learn to know him quite well."
"He must be. Remus is quite taken with him. He is always happy when there's a letter for him, but he seems happiest when there's a letter from Sirius."
"How cute. How is he today?"
"Slept most of the day, but he emptied quite a big bowl of soup at lunch, which is usually a good sign. No wounds or bruises left, I've healed it all."
"Good. So there are no restrictions for him?"
"Not really. He'll sleep a bit more in the next three or four days, so no worries when he doesn't get up early."
"Very well, we'll let him rest up. - hello, Remus! Ready to floo over?"
"Hello, Mrs Potter! Yes, I am!" Remus called from behind his mother.
"Good, I'll see you in a moment, Martha!" Venetia said, got up and helped Remus turn his trunk so he could take it easily through the floo.
After he left, Venetia followed with his suitcase. Arriving in the Potters' living room she witnessed Sirius pulling Remus into a tight hug.
"It's so good to have you here, mate! Let's help you take your stuff up. You can bunk with me!"
Remus seemed to have already greeted all others in the house. Venetia gave James the suitcase and told him to follow his friends. Then she turned to meet Martha. They shook hands.
"Thank you for inviting Remus for the remainder of the break. It means so much to him to have friends."
"That's very much alright! We figured it's the first time ever that Sirius has his own friends for a visit, it would do him a lot of good, too. I'm sure we get along with Remus just fine," said Martha.
"He's pretty easy to have. Don't hesitate to ask his help for chores."
"We will, if there's need."
"Fine! Well, I have to return home, Rupert and Rowland are alone at home. They're a bit dangerous to be left alone!"
"We'll see you at King's Cross then!"
Venetia left and the boys upstairs dropped Remus' stuff in Sirius' room, where there was a second bed next to Sirius' four poster. They had three weeks until the start of the term together. Sirius grinned at Remus and said:
"Do you want to unpack your suitcase? There's space enough in the dresser, I can put my stuff in one drawer and you can have the other... there's also still quite a lot of space in the wardrobe..."
"Are there shelves? Then you don't need to relocate your stuff in the dresser, I'll just put mine in the wardrobe..."
"Jolly good idea. Here!"
Remus quickly unpacked. Then he asked:
"Have you been out shopping for the school supplies yet?"
"Nope. Peter had already been right after he got the letter, that's why James and I decided to wait. We could do that in the next days..."
Remus smiled.
"Good!"
"Your mum's very nice..." Sirius remarked.
Remus had never said much about his family. He had noticed that family was a sore spot for Sirius and he didn't want to deepen his friend's wounds by telling him a ton of fluffy stories about his siblings and parents. So Sirius knew almost nothing about them. Remus grinned now and said:
"I really love her to bits, Siri. She's always kind and she loves me, my dad, too. Without them I'd have never survived as a werewolf."
"Lucky you! I'm glad that you have good parents."
"Hey, Sirius, Remus! Are you coming? Time for dinner!" James called and banged the door open.
"Yeah, we're coming."
The three trampled down the stairs. Martha thought an earthquake had broken out, but it was only three famished teenage boys who stormed the dining room with a big grin on their faces. She sent them to the kitchen to wash their hands. Oliver had arrived at home and greeted the newcomer.
"Hello, Remus! It's nice to see you again. Are you okay?"
"Yes, sir, I am. Thank you for inviting me..."
"You're very welcome! You boys will surely have a lot of fun together."
"Can you say Quidditch?" James called.
"Or broom tag?" Sirius followed suit.
"Or Exploding Snap all day long?" James continued.
Remus grinned. This was as close to a normal life outside of his own family he'd ever get, he thought. The dinner was a very pleasant affair. There was a lively conversation going on between the five. The Potters didn't treat the boys as children anymore, they regarded them as the young adults they were slowly becoming, so they discussed lots of things with them. After dinner the boys cleared the table and washed the dishes, then they took off outside for a while and when it got dark they returned and ran up to James' room, which had more space than Sirius', now that there was a second bed in there.
"Peter already bunked there, so we just made a fresh bed..." Sirius told Remus.
Author: Mariann
Rating: R
Pairing: Sirius/Remus
Category: Between Fluff, Fun and Fighting
Summary: Sirius and Remus grow up, find love, start a family and fight the Dark Lord
Disclaimer: Belongs to JKR - no money's made from my poor attempts at writing
A/N: AU - The Willow Incident does not happen in this story. Peter is loyal and a spy for Dumbledore. Remus and Sirius are destined to fight Voldemort - will they succeed? A fair amount of children are born in this story - to spite the Death Eaters of course!
2. Off to school!
Remus was accompanied to the train by his complete family, who saw to it that he was settled comfortably in a compartment and all wished him a good trip and a great start.
"You'll do great, cub! And you'll love it there, just don't hide yourself too much, will you?" Richard Jr. told Remus.
"I'll try, okay?"
"Very good! I want to see some owls now and then, is that clear?"
"Yes, sir!"
Remus was alone in his compartment for the better part of the trip. He didn't mind at all, as he had something to read which kept him happy and occupied enough. He got changed to the school robes and had just finished that when two boys stormed into his compartment.
"Sorry, do you mind if we hide out here for a while?" they asked and giggled.
He looked at them. Both seemed to be around his age, even if both of them were considerably taller.
"No, I don't mind," he said, "why do you need to hide?"
"Oh, we just planted a dungbomb in the compartment of Sirius' evil cousins. Now they're on a rampage. I'm sure they'll turn up here soon, but I've got something to hide us. You just need to say you're alone!" one of the boys replied.
"Who's Sirius?" Remus asked.
"That would be me. Sirius Black. What's your name?"
Sirius held out his hand and Remus took it.
"Remus Lupin."
"You look too small for a first year. But you are a first year, aren't you?" Sirius asked.
"Yes, I am. You too?"
"Yep!"
The other boy pulled a silvery piece of fabric out of his pocket and said:
"Come on, Siri, there's no time for flirting, let's get hidden!"
He covered both of them with the fabric and Remus' eyes widened as he saw them vanish. From underneath he heard the other boy's voice:
"By the way, I'm James Potter. You're not going to give us away, will you?"
"No, I won't, but if you don't want to give yourself away then you should shut up!"
"Will do!"
The 'evil cousins' came and passed and passed again, but the two boys weren't visible, so they left. For the rest of the trip Sirius and James stayed under the Invisibility Cloak, but finally they left to gather their stuff and Remus saw them again from far when they left the train and were called over to Hagrid, who took them across the lake. Remus wasn't near the two boys at the Sorting, but he watched as Sirius was sent to Gryffindor. To his astonishment he saw that all the teachers ware staring after Sirius, whose cousin Bellatrix had just been sorted to Slytherin.
Sirius seemed astonished himself, but he dropped the hat on the stool and walked over to the Gryffindor table, where he wasn't welcomed especially warmly. He didn't seem to care though and followed the Sorting with interest. Two girls were sorted into Gryffindor and then it was Remus' turn. He put the hat on his head. It whistled.
"Well, hello there, young master Lupin. I've already had the pleasure to sort four siblings of yours, I thought I was through with your family."
"There's two more after me. But it will take a while," Remus thought.
"Ah, well. Now, what to do with you? All of your siblings were difficult to place, you know? You're a bunch of highly individual people, oh yes, you are! But there is a lot of potential in your head, you do like to learn, don't you?"
"I do. I love to read."
"And you are so very brave to face this school and the great handicap of your life... is that a bit of mischief I detect there? Hm. Now it gets easier. I think you'd be perfectly well placed in GRYFFINDOR!"
Remus grinned when he pulled the hat off his head and joined the table to a great amount of applause. He sat down next to Sirius.
"Hey there, Remus! Wouldn't have thought to be in the same house as you are, but I think it's great!"
"Hi Sirius. I'm happy to be here. Would have liked Ravenclaw, too, but this is just fine."
"Your family in Ravenclaw?"
"My mother and sister. Dad's been in Gryffindor."
"You have a sister here?"
"Left Hogwarts. I'm a late arrival in the family."
"Oh."
"And you? Happy to be here or would you have preferred another house?"
"'m not sure yet. They don't really like me. You've got a much better welcome."
"I was wondering why..."
"Well, I'm sure it's because I'm a Black."
"And?" Remus asked, puzzled.
"They're all Slytherins. You saw my cousin before..."
"Bellatrix? That's your cousin?"
"Unfortunately. She's a real pest."
"So you would have liked to be in Slytherin?"
"No! I'm glad I'm not one of them. My 'home' is enough of a dungeon, I don't need that at school on top of that. I hear, Gryffindor is somewhere up in the castle."
Remus nodded.
"Yes, it's in a tower."
"Sounds great."
"They'll get used to you. I mean, as long as you don't go and hex them all the time they'll learn to know you, won't they?"
"I hope so. I was glad enough to escape from home."
The two boys warmed up to each other soon and their friendship developed to a really close relationship over the next few years. Remus only regretted that he wasn't able to invite Sirius to his home over the summer breaks, because Sirius' parents made sure he was safely inside of their house, almost locked up. For five years the boys were close friends. Just before the end of their fifth year Sirius inherited half of the fortune of his great uncle Alphard's and was able to cut his family off from putting their hands on his inheritance with the help of his great uncle's lawyers. But this led to a huge row between Sirius and his parents. Sirius broke all ties with his family and left his home with his possessions. He went straight to James Potter, his best friend since the boys had gone to primary school together.
The Potters didn't even ask questions; when Sirius turned up on their doorstep they took him in, pampered him until he stopped shaking and only then they gently started to find out what had happened at Grimmauld Place. Sirius told them:
"They were outraged because my great uncle left a lot of money to me and my cousin Andromeda. She's the other one in my generation who didn't behave like a 'true' Black - she married a Muggle-born, Ted Tonks. James might have told you. Well, they tried to get their hands on my inheritance and I sought help from uncle Alphard's lawyers. Anyway, they couldn't take it away from me and the will also stated that it was to come to my full use as soon as I got it. I left the Gringotts key at the lawyers to make sure my parents couldn't take it from me forcibly. And all of that made them slightly miffed at me..."
James snorted. He could easily translate 'slightly miffed' to 'absolutely pissed off'.
"You mean, they were in a murderous mood, don't you?" he asked.
"Well, yes, at least close. Father thought it was enough if he hexed me around a bit. When I wouldn't back down he picked up some help. And then they started screaming at me that I would never become a proper follower of the Dark Lord if I kept up that mutinous behaviour of mine and bla and bla... you can imagine the drivel. And of course I screamed back that I wouldn't ever become a follower of their stupid Dark Lord anyway and the row turned out a bit nasty. So I packed and left. I'll have to find a flat now..."
"You stay here as long as you're at Hogwarts, Sirius. There is no way you're going to get a flat of your own before you're of age next year," Mr. Potter said.
Sirius smiled. For the first time in his life he was out of Grimmauld Place and he had been mighty glad for the Knight Bus to have taken him right to the doorstep of the Potters. James tugged on his sleeve and said:
"Well, now that that's settled, let me take you up and give you a room. You can have the one next to mine!"
While the boys picked up Sirius' trunk and owl cage and rushed upstairs, discussing Quidditch, Martha and Oliver Potter looked after them and wondered, if they would receive the visit of Sirius' angry relatives soon.
Nothing happened though. A fact that astonished James' parents. Oliver Potter decided to talk to Sirius' father, but he was told rudely that the Blacks had washed their hands of such a disgrace of a son. Oliver Potter took this as a clear indication that Sirius was free from his family. He would turn seventeen in October, so Oliver Potter thought it could be overlooked that he had no guardian until then. He did inform Minerva McGonagall that Sirius was now living at his place though.
James thought it was brilliant, that Sirius was with him. For the first time in their friendship the boys spent time outside of school with each other and of course James immediately thought of inviting Remus and Peter for a few weeks. His parents allowed it. Only minutes later, two owls fluttered into the night with a letter to Remus and another to Peter.
Remus came down to breakfast the next morning and found the letter. Rupert and Rowland were already up and ate their breakfast. Remus, being a bit older, liked to sleep in during his vacations.
"Good morning, cub. Did you sleep well?" Venetia asked.
"Morning, mum. Yes, I did, thank you."
"There's a letter for you. Sirius' owl brought it."
Remus smiled. Venetia loved to see that bright smile on her son's face every time a letter from one of his friends arrived. Though the smile was always the brightest when it was a letter from Sirius. Remus picked it up and read it.
"Sirius has left his home, mum! He's at James' and the Potters have taken him in! They're inviting me for a few weeks. Can I go?"
"After the full moon, love."
"That's on the ninth."
"I know. You'll have to rest for the day though, but I'll allow you to go in the late afternoon."
Remus hugged his mother and thanked her.
"Thanks, mum! - Come upstairs with me, Silas, I'll give you a letter to take back to Siri!"
"Breakfast first, young man, I want to clear the table!"
"Can I take it up with me?"
"Only if you promise to bring the dishes back down."
"Sure!"
Remus picked up a few pieces of buttered toast and a couple of rashes of bacon, his cup of hot chocolate and dashed up the stairs.
"Can I go, too, mum?" asked Rupert.
"Yes, love, if you've quite finished."
"Yeah... I'd like to go and play."
"Fine, go outside, but stay in the garden, please. And take Rowland with you!"
"Okay. Come, Rowland. We can play broom tag, maybe even Remus helps playing later..."
The boys vanished to the garden and Remus saw them moments later on their brooms. He wrote his letter to Sirius and added an extra letter to the Potters, that he would be allowed to come to their place on the tenth of August to the end of the vacation. He added both letters to Silas' legs and the owl took off, back across the country to the Potters.
Time flew and soon the dreaded full moon night came up again. It was summer, so Rowland and Rupert were already sent to bed before Remus had to go down to the cellar. Richard and Venetia hugged him as they always did when he was at home for a transformation, then Remus went inside, only dressed in a bathrobe, which he took off and deposited on a shelf high on the wall. He sighed when he sat down. For more than ten years he had transformed into the wolf now. One hundred and thirty full moons ago he had received the bite. He wondered how many more he would survive. He didn't remember the nights once they were over, but he knew that it got harder to transform as the wolf was growing up inside of him. Remus had had his growth spurts in the meantime, he wasn't the smallest in the family anymore. The pain was only worse.
Venetia found a very bloodied boy on the mattress in the cellar the next morning. It had been hard, but she had learned to stay away from the cellar during Remus' transformations, because he was only more agitated when he smelled someone outside of the door. He missed his friends. For four full moons he had been with them since they had transformed for the first time just after Christmas of the last school year. And even though his memories of the nights were hazy he knew that the wolf had been a lot calmer. He smiled, thinking of his big black dog, whom he regarded as his own puppy. Sirius was so cute, even though he looked like a ferocious beast, a churchyard grim. But he couldn't hide being an overgrown playful puppy in reality. Remus couldn't stop himself the first time he'd seen Sirius, who had flopped down and rolled to show his belly to be scratched, he had to comply.
But now he was back in the cellar at home and the transformations had been as bad as any before. Venetia healed the wounds, then she levitated her son up to his bathroom and right into the hot water, where he stretched out and sighed. He was glad he didn't have to walk up the stairs. Venetia helped him wash up and rinsed his hair. Then she helped him to bed, where he fell asleep and didn't wake up for six hours. Rupert brought him soup and bread up and shared some pumpkin juice with his big brother.
"Hey! Up to something to eat, Rem?" he asked.
"Mhm. Thanks, Roop!"
Rupert had just received his Hogwarts letter a few days before.
"Mum said, we'd go shopping tomorrow. I can't wait, Remus! What house do you think I'll be in?"
"Hm, no idea, Roop! Where would you like to go?"
"You and Roxanne and Julia were all in Gryffindor. I think it'd be way cool if I got in there, too."
"Well, you'll see. You might, you know! The hat is pretty cool."
Remus spooned his soup and ate some of the homemade bread. His mother liked to cook and bake, so the family was always spoiled with lots of good food. The pot-au-feu tasted very nice, too. Remus fished out a section of a marrow bone and beamed. He spread the marrow over the bread, sprinkled a little salt on top and bit into the crunchy bread.
"Yum! There's not much over mum's pot-au-feu!" he said.
"I like lots of other things much better."
"You'll love the Hogwarts food! It's great, too."
Remus finished his meal and Rupert took the tray back down to the kitchen. Remus turned around in the bed and slept for another three hours. Venetia checked on him just before dinner. He looked well enough, so she said:
"If you get dressed and come down I'll inform Martha that you're coming before dinner..."
"Yay! Thanks a lot, mum!"
She grinned. He was out of the bed in an instant and jumped over to his dresser to get some fresh clothes. They had packed a suitcase with summer clothes and his Hogwarts trunk. Remus would be allowed to stay until the vacation ended and Martha would hand the suitcase with the summer clothes to Venetia when they met at Platform 9 3/4. She went back down and floo called the Potters. Martha was there.
"Hello, Martha. Remus has slept out now and he's ready to floo over. I'll take his suitcase and apparate, okay? He'll be down in a moment..."
"Hello, Venetia! That's fine. James and Sirius are waiting for him. Unfortunately Peter had to leave again last Saturday, his family had a vacation abroad planned, so he couldn't stay until Remus comes."
"Oh well, that's certainly better for you! I'm sure it's a handful to have the boys there..."
"It's fun, too. Sirius is a nice boy. I got to learn to know him quite well."
"He must be. Remus is quite taken with him. He is always happy when there's a letter for him, but he seems happiest when there's a letter from Sirius."
"How cute. How is he today?"
"Slept most of the day, but he emptied quite a big bowl of soup at lunch, which is usually a good sign. No wounds or bruises left, I've healed it all."
"Good. So there are no restrictions for him?"
"Not really. He'll sleep a bit more in the next three or four days, so no worries when he doesn't get up early."
"Very well, we'll let him rest up. - hello, Remus! Ready to floo over?"
"Hello, Mrs Potter! Yes, I am!" Remus called from behind his mother.
"Good, I'll see you in a moment, Martha!" Venetia said, got up and helped Remus turn his trunk so he could take it easily through the floo.
After he left, Venetia followed with his suitcase. Arriving in the Potters' living room she witnessed Sirius pulling Remus into a tight hug.
"It's so good to have you here, mate! Let's help you take your stuff up. You can bunk with me!"
Remus seemed to have already greeted all others in the house. Venetia gave James the suitcase and told him to follow his friends. Then she turned to meet Martha. They shook hands.
"Thank you for inviting Remus for the remainder of the break. It means so much to him to have friends."
"That's very much alright! We figured it's the first time ever that Sirius has his own friends for a visit, it would do him a lot of good, too. I'm sure we get along with Remus just fine," said Martha.
"He's pretty easy to have. Don't hesitate to ask his help for chores."
"We will, if there's need."
"Fine! Well, I have to return home, Rupert and Rowland are alone at home. They're a bit dangerous to be left alone!"
"We'll see you at King's Cross then!"
Venetia left and the boys upstairs dropped Remus' stuff in Sirius' room, where there was a second bed next to Sirius' four poster. They had three weeks until the start of the term together. Sirius grinned at Remus and said:
"Do you want to unpack your suitcase? There's space enough in the dresser, I can put my stuff in one drawer and you can have the other... there's also still quite a lot of space in the wardrobe..."
"Are there shelves? Then you don't need to relocate your stuff in the dresser, I'll just put mine in the wardrobe..."
"Jolly good idea. Here!"
Remus quickly unpacked. Then he asked:
"Have you been out shopping for the school supplies yet?"
"Nope. Peter had already been right after he got the letter, that's why James and I decided to wait. We could do that in the next days..."
Remus smiled.
"Good!"
"Your mum's very nice..." Sirius remarked.
Remus had never said much about his family. He had noticed that family was a sore spot for Sirius and he didn't want to deepen his friend's wounds by telling him a ton of fluffy stories about his siblings and parents. So Sirius knew almost nothing about them. Remus grinned now and said:
"I really love her to bits, Siri. She's always kind and she loves me, my dad, too. Without them I'd have never survived as a werewolf."
"Lucky you! I'm glad that you have good parents."
"Hey, Sirius, Remus! Are you coming? Time for dinner!" James called and banged the door open.
"Yeah, we're coming."
The three trampled down the stairs. Martha thought an earthquake had broken out, but it was only three famished teenage boys who stormed the dining room with a big grin on their faces. She sent them to the kitchen to wash their hands. Oliver had arrived at home and greeted the newcomer.
"Hello, Remus! It's nice to see you again. Are you okay?"
"Yes, sir, I am. Thank you for inviting me..."
"You're very welcome! You boys will surely have a lot of fun together."
"Can you say Quidditch?" James called.
"Or broom tag?" Sirius followed suit.
"Or Exploding Snap all day long?" James continued.
Remus grinned. This was as close to a normal life outside of his own family he'd ever get, he thought. The dinner was a very pleasant affair. There was a lively conversation going on between the five. The Potters didn't treat the boys as children anymore, they regarded them as the young adults they were slowly becoming, so they discussed lots of things with them. After dinner the boys cleared the table and washed the dishes, then they took off outside for a while and when it got dark they returned and ran up to James' room, which had more space than Sirius', now that there was a second bed in there.
"Peter already bunked there, so we just made a fresh bed..." Sirius told Remus.