Title: Baby Boom! 4/18
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 Dari Sanchez and Hope Foster turn up some in this story - they're Maple Tide's!
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!
4. Back to Hogwarts
Their return to Hogwarts a couple of days later meant the end of a week in heaven. On Platform 9 3/4 they met up with Richard and Venetia Lupin to give them Remus' suitcase. They still had a few minutes left. Remus looked up to his parents and said:
"Mum, dad, I've got something to tell you..."
"Yes, Remus? What is it?" Venetia asked back. His tone told her immediately that it was something important.
"I'm in love..." Remus said and worried his lower lip.
"Wow! Now there's a surprise, cub. Do we know her?" Richard asked, grinning.
"Him. And yes, you do know him," Remus replied.
Now Venetia knew. There was a reason for Remus' happy face when he received one of Sirius' letters after all, she thought. She didn't mind that at all. Thinking practically she knew how difficult things could get for Remus when it came to looking for a mate and from that point of view she found him being together with Sirius ideal. But were they together?
"So, are you and Sirius together, love?" she asked softly, giving her knowledge away.
Remus looked up at her, astonished.
"How d'you know it's Sirius?" he asked.
"Lucky guess!" she said, laughing. "Is it?"
"Yes. I really hope you don't mind that I won't give you any grandchildren..." Remus replied with a blush.
"As if there weren't enough candidates for that, Remus! Remember! You have three brothers and three sisters. Sources enough for grandchildren, sweetie."
Venetia hugged her son. His affliction had always made him closest to her of all of her children, even if she loved them all.
"I'm really glad for you to have found love, Remus. That's more important than a grandchild, you know! You should be happy and that will give you as much of a normal life as possible. And that makes me happy for you. Would you like to bring Sirius home for Christmas?"
Remus smiled so widely she thought his mouth was going to reach his ears. He threw his arms around her and almost sobbed.
"Oh mum, I'm so glad you're okay with it. I'll write you all about it when I'm back at Hogwarts, okay? Sirius will be so glad that you're okay with it."
"Where is he at all?" Venetia looked around until she saw Sirius talking with James a few metres away.
He caught her glance and looked back anxiously. She beckoned him over. He came and looked worried, but Venetia pulled him into a hug and said:
"Let me first congratulate you on getting away from that awful place, Sirius! I'm sure you're much happier now. And then let me ease your mind about being together with Remus. I'm glad it's you if it had to be another boy. You may know that for Richard and I only counts what makes Remus happy, and frankly, he is glowing right now. If that's because you two are a couple now I'm fine with it. Welcome to the family, Sirius!"
Sirius couldn't hold back his tears. He returned her hug and sobbed. She patted his shoulders and said:
"Come now, sweetie, there's no need to cry, now is there? You love each other, that's fine with me. And even though Richard still looks like a fish on dry land I'm sure he thinks the same..." Venetia teased her husband more than her future son-in-law.
Richard laughed. He pulled Remus into another hug and said:
"Don't worry, Remus, I'm fine with it, too. You two have been best friends for so many years already, I think that should be a good basis for a solid relationship. I really wish you all the best. You'll enjoy Hogwarts especially this year, there'll be a surprise for you people!"
"Oh! What is it, dad? Come on, if you know it would be so unfair not to tell us!"
"No, won't do anything like that. What surprise would it be if you already knew?"
"Aww! That's mean. To tease us with something you know and then not tell!" Remus said in protest with a slightly whiny tone.
Sirius had caught himself. He looked at the Lupin family and noticed that there were two other boys next to Remus' parents. And in that moment he noticed that he still barely knew anything about Remus' family.
"Oh, Sirius, this here is Rupert, and this is Rowland. They're my little brothers. Rupert starts Hogwarts this year."
"Oh..." was all Sirius could say at first. Then he held out his hand to shake Rupert's and Rowland's.
"Hi. I'm Sirius. You've probably heard about me..."
"Yeah, a bit..." Rupert said and grinned.
"Once a day or so..." Rowland filled in.
"Or once an hour every day..." Rupert went on.
And both boys dissolved into peals of laughter. Remus just gave them a little shove. While they fought with each other a lot the two of them were quite a mischievous pair. He looked forward to the Sorting to find out which house would become his brother's new home away from home.
"It'll be so dull at home with you all away," Rowland complained.
"You'll be off to Hogwarts very soon, too, love," his mother said.
Then she checked the time and said:
"Well, you people should hop on the train, it'll leave soon! Will you keep an eye on Rupert today, Remus?"
"Of course, mum. Though I'll have to go to the prefect's carriage for the start."
"That's okay, we'll take him with us, won't we, Sirius?" James offered.
"Of course! Can't but keep a watch over a Marauder's little brother... unless it's mine of course! Come, Rupert, you'll have a lot of fun on this ride!"
Soon they were settled into a compartment. Remus kissed Sirius and left for the prefect's carriage from where he returned an hour later with the latest information about what would be going on at Hogwarts in the weeks to come. He found his little brother happily playing Exploding Snap with James, Peter and Sirius. There was another boy in the compartment who looked like he was a first year. Remus recognised one of Rupert's school mates from the primary school.
The moment he opened the door to the compartment it looked like the sun had risen in Sirius' face. He beamed at his boyfriend. And said boyfriend beamed right back. Peter noticed and asked:
"Hey, did something happen while I was away from you guys?"
"You could say so, Peter. Be prepared for a LOT of sappiness going on in our dorm. Those two are like dripping honey! In other words, meet Hogwarts' newest dream couple..." James said with as much sarcasm as he could muster, but he couldn't hide a grin which belied his words somehow.
Since James was alright with it, Peter was. He said:
"Oy! Did it occur to either of you guys that you are in fact, err... two... guys? Together?"
Sirius grinned. He beamed at Remus, whom he had missed already, even if he had been away for only an hour.
"Yeah, it did, go figure!" he said.
"That's kind of the idea of being gay, Peter," Remus added.
"Oh..." was all Peter said.
And after a while:
"Well, it's good you're together, glad you won't be hitting on me then..."
James grinned and confirmed:
"Yes, I'm kind of glad about that, too! And I suppose my mum was as well."
And they all laughed. The rest of the ride passed in comfortable bantering, playing and of course Remus spent about half of it immersed in one of his books.
"How did you do on your OWLS, Peter?"
"Not as bad as I thought. Got one in Charms, Herbology, Divination and Care of Magical Creatures. So I'm now taking those, Defence and Transfiguration."
"Oh, great! That means we still share four of our subjects."
"That's great! How did yours go?"
"I'm quite happy about them! I got an O in Defence and Charms, E in Transfiguration, Potions, Herbology, Astronomy and Ancient Runes. And I've got an A in Arithmancy, too, but I'm dropping it. Don't need a teacher to study that anymore," Remus replied.
"Wow! That's quite impressive! How on earth did you manage an E in Potions? That will keep you in McGuire's NEWTS level class, won't it?"
"It will. And I have no idea, but the main factor could be that the examiners are a bit less biased and that they don't know I'm a werewolf..."
At that moment they remembered that they weren't as alone in the compartment as they usually were. Rupert of course knew everything about Remus' lycanthropy, but Danny, his friend, had no idea. He looked up at Remus, shocked, and was just starting to scream when Rupert put his hand on his mouth.
"Shit..." Remus said quietly.
He was so used to handling his lycanthropy casually when he was with his family or with the Marauders he had completely forgotten that there was someone else in the compartment.
"Dan, just calm down, please!" Rupert said and added: "I'll take my hand away if you nod and tell me that you won't scream, okay?"
Daniel nodded. Rupert took his hand away and explained:
"Sorry, Dan! I couldn't tell you, it isn't my secret to share, but now that Remus has been the idiot himself... I hope you will mind as little as we do, once you'll know that he's really okay. I mean, just how many years have you known him?"
"Quite a few..." Dan managed.
Remus looked at him anxiously.
"How can they let you into the school? And even make you a prefect?" he hissed then.
"Because I'm safe..." Remus said.
"No werewolf is safe!" Dan protested.
Sirius sighed. Then he looked Dan in the eyes and said:
"Werewolves are people like you and I except for that one night a month when they have to transform, Daniel. That means there is not the slightest reason for you to be afraid of Remus. Because on that particular night he leaves the castle for his transformation. That means he will be far away from you and you don't have to fear a thing. Believe me that there is nothing dangerous about Remus when he's a human. Apart from his sharp wit that is. He's been made a prefect because he's the most talented among us four and because he's the most reliable one. Can you see past the prejudices that everyone has loaded on you and accept that he has a right to get a good education just like every other wizard or witch?"
"I don't know..." Daniel said, sounding very insecure.
"Tell you what. When we get to Hogwarts you'll be sorted and then we'll have a little chat with Professor Dumbledore about it, okay?" James said.
"Okay."
"And may we ask you that you do not repeat any of this to anyone until then? Because it's kept quiet that Remus is a werewolf to not cause more of the reactions you just showed. If people don't know they won't worry about it. Remus carries a heavy burden, but he's holding up under it and he's never yet endangered anyone," Sirius added.
"Okay."
Luckily the trip ended shortly after that and they all left to catch one of the carriages to school. Remus gave Rupert a little shove in Hagrid's direction.
"There's Hagrid, Roop. You two go with him."
"I'll have an eye on Dan until the Sorting is over, Remus, okay?"
"Thanks, Roop! I'm such an idiot."
"He'll keep his mouth shut."
Remus followed the other three Marauders to a carriage and snuggled close to Sirius during the ride. He was really scared that little Daniel would spill the beans before they could have him in Dumbledore's office, where he would probably be obliviated.
The moment they reached the Great Hall, Remus and Sirius went to talk to the headmaster who was already at his place at the teachers' table.
"Professor Dumbledore, could we have a word in private with you before the Sorting, please? It's quite important," Sirius said.
"If it is that important, yes, please step into the little room here..."
Once the door was closed, Remus told Dumbledore about his mistake on the train.
"Daniel Norris? Well, if he should be sorted into any house other than Gryffindor, where you can keep him under control until after the feast I'll obliviate him. If he is getting into Gryffindor you can see to it that he does not say anything. I should think that this will suffice."
Remus was relieved.
"Yes, that should do just fine. Thank you, Professor."
"You are very welcome, my boy. I would really like to see you leave Hogwarts at the end of your seventh year, not before that."
Remus beamed.
"Now you should rejoin your friends at the Gryffindor table. I am sure we are almost ready to start the Sorting. You wouldn't want to miss seeing your brother sorted, would you?"
They all returned to the Great Hall and the boys took their seats on the spots Peter and James had kept free for them. Remus took Sirius' hand under the table. He followed the Sorting. There were a couple of new Gryffindors in the first few first years to be sorted. Then Professor McGonagall called:
"Lupin, Rupert."
Rupert hopped to the stool, sat down and vanished under the hat, which shouted "GRYFFINDOR" only seconds later. Rupert took it off, beamed and was off to the table where his brother sat in a dash.
"Hey, Roop! Glad you made it here!" Remus said, beaming, too.
"Me too! It's just the coolest house!"
His housemates could only agree with that and welcomed their newest member with lots of applause. They turned to see what would happen with Daniel. He came up and was sorted into Hufflepuff. Remus looked over to Dumbledore surreptitiously and saw that the headmaster had lifted his hand only slightly in Daniel's direction. He sighed with relief. Daniel would be oblivious of that disastrous knowledge now and would be all the better for it. Rupert was a bit sad that his best friend from primary school was in a different house.
"Don't worry, Rupert, you can still be friends with Dan! There's the library and the Great Hall where you can spend free time together."
"Yeah, you're right."
"And you're surely going to make some friends here in Gryffindor."
After the feast and the speech from Dumbledore the new fifth year Gryffindor prefects rounded up the first years and took them up to the Gryffindor tower. Remus turned to Sirius and was about to go when he heard Dumbledore calling him:
"Mr. Lupin, a word please."
Remus turned around. Dumbledore smiled and said:
"It's been taken care of. You need not worry that it will be spread."
"Thank you, sir! I was such a fool not to keep my mouth shut."
"On the other hand it is very nice to know that you can be at ease around some people, Remus. You must cherish that."
"Yes, I do. You have not even an idea to what extent."
And he gave Sirius a mischievous glance.
"That is excellent. Have a good night, gentlemen!"
"Good night, Professor!" Remus and Sirius chorused.
They followed their housemates up to the tower slowly. Their curfew wasn't just yet, so they took their time. Sirius took Remus' hand and held it tightly in his own.
"How do you feel about it, Remus? Would you mind that people knew about us or do you want to keep it among us?" Sirius asked.
"I want to make it clear that you're mine, love! I'm not about to start worrying about others flocking around you. They may look, but definitely not touch! Besides it will chase away all those girls trying to get your attention."
Sirius grinned. He loved Remus' possessiveness. For the first time in his life he didn't worry about being someone's 'possession' as he wanted to belong to Remus fully. Walking up the many stairs they moved closer and by the time they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady Sirius had his arms around Remus' shoulders and Remus' was firmly around Sirius' waist.
"Well, what do we have here? If you two aren't quite the lovebirds..." the Fat Lady said.
She was chatting with a lady from another portrait and Remus knew that now the news about their relationship would be spread within hours. He gave the Fat Lady the password, she swung forward and let them enter through the big hole behind her. When they stepped through they noticed that there were only a few fifth, sixth and seventh years left in the room, the younger ones were all on the way to their dormitories already. Some of their housemates looked around to see who was coming in late. Seeing the couple, some of them gaped quite open-mouthed.
"We just wanted to let everyone know that both of us are taken!" Sirius declared, grinning.
Some of the people looked rather non-plussed. Some of the girls looked deeply disappointed that two of the best looking Gryffindor sixth years were unavailable for the female population of the school and others just shrugged. Lily Evans actually came to them and smiled. Sirius knew that the smile was meant for Remus, who was the only one of the Marauders Lily actually liked.
"Congratulations, Remus, that's good to know! You need someone..."
"Thanks, Lily. He's good for me, believe me! And we're very happy," Remus declared.
"Good!"
Soon the excitement died down and within days they were back into the routine of classes again. Of course the rumour about the gay couple went through the school within a day, but they sat it out and after a while the whispers died down.
The surprise turned out to be additional Quidditch matches with two teams from Beauxbatons who would come to play two friendship games in a mini tournament around the Easter break with the two top house teams of Hogwarts. That was a reason for James, who was the new captain of the Gryffindor team to rouse them early three times a week to do physical exercises and Quidditch training. Three players had left the team at the end of the last year and so there was need to hold tryouts for a second Beater, a Keeper and a Seeker. The positions were filled with a third year for the Beater, Lily Evans as Keeper and Remus as the new Seeker. After that was made known to Madam Hooch she scheduled the Gryffindor matches so that none of them would fall on a full moon night or the two days around. Remus had then accepted the position without fear of discovery or failing the team. Sirius trained his new Beater colleague hard. It was fun for him and he quickly managed to bring the new team member up to speed.
And who would have thought that Lily was a superb Keeper? She had tried out because her friend Dari had asked her to. Dari Sanchez was a Chaser, together with James and a now fifth year named Mary Robins. James was quite happy with the new team, but he already planned to find reserves to build up a team for the time after the now five sixth years would leave.
Barely ten days after the start of the term was the first full moon night. Remus surprised his friends by suggesting:
"Why don't we tell Poppy Pomfrey about you guys? She already knows that you know, but I think it would be good to have at least a few adults know about your Animagi."
James, Sirius and Peter pondered this for a day and then they decided to give it a try. They went to the hospital wing on the Saturday before the full moon and were lucky, too, as no one was there at the moment. Poppy looked at them and asked:
"Hello there. Anything amiss with one of you?"
"No, Madam Pomfrey. It's just, we wanted to talk to you about something concerning Remus..." Sirius said.
"What is it?" she asked.
She immediately softened down when it was about Remus, because he had become her little darling. She was quite protective of him.
"Well, only indirectly. You see, the three of us did something once we knew he was a werewolf. We searched for something that would help him and found out that werewolves are not dangerous to animals. Magical or non-magical," James started.
"That's interesting. If he'd bite any of them they wouldn't be affected normally, that's right. And?"
"Well, that gave us lots to think about. First we thought we'd just find a big dog or something, like a friend for him, you know. But then we came back to our third year and Professor McGonagall talked about Animagi..." Sirius continued.
Poppy's eyes went wide.
"Tell me you didn't go ahead and do something that foolish to try..." she said, almost choking.
"Actually, yes, we did... and we managed it last year..." James said, grinning.
"Look!" Remus said and then there were three animals, looking at the nurse.
Peter, the rat, quickly climbed up the stag's legs and body to place himself between the antlers. James, the stag, scratched the floor with his hooves and Padfoot, the dog, barked and let his tongue loll. Remus immediately petted Sirius and got his face licked.
"Wow."
That was all she said.
"That's amazing. Can you turn back?"
Within seconds the three boys were back. She stared at them, truly in awe. She was amazed that they had mastered the transformation and she was amazed at the display of friendship towards Remus. She looked at Remus, who smiled.
"Does anyone else know about this?" she asked.
"No," Sirius said.
"You know that you need to be registered."
"Yes, but we thought we'd do that after we leave Hogwarts," James said.
"Good. I suppose you want me to keep quiet about this?"
"If you could do that we'd be very relieved. We just thought we needed to have an adult or two who know about it."
"So you are actually spending the full moon nights with Remus?" she asked.
The boys nodded.
"Dear me... what if he bites you?"
"Been there, done that... nothing happens. We've wrestled quite a bit and of course I caught a bite or two, but since I'm still not a werewolf it apparently doesn't matter," Sirius said, beaming.
"That relieves me quite a bit, Sirius. What about Peter? I mean, he's a pretty tiny rat and normally a wolf wouldn't bother with a rat long..."
"He was quite scared the first time we went in, but we knew he was also small enough to slip out anywhere or to hide easily, so it wasn't so bad. Turned out that the wolf must have accepted us as a pack or something," James said.
"This is absolutely amazing. Are you sure you don't want to entrust Albus and Minerva with this? I'm sure they'd explode at first, but then they'd probably just be proud of you. That's no small feat, especially since you have mastered it at such a young age and on your own!"
"We'll think about it. We thought to tell you first, because you noticed that I hardly had more than a few little scratches the last three transformations before the summer break."
"So that was why. Well, I never! You three are really good friends, I don't think that's ever been done before for such a reason! Thank you for trusting me with your secret."
On the full moon night Remus went to the Whomping Willow, which he was now allowed to do alone. He usually went there on a hidden path from a not very well known exit out of the castle so he wouldn't be spotted from the school. He waited for his friends, who joined him not much later. They were good and stayed inside of the Shrieking Shack for the night. James watched how Moony reacted to Padfoot. And he was amazed, because the wolf really was fond of the dog, groomed and licked him for a long time and growled at him and Peter. James almost laughed about it. He decided that if the canines wanted to be alone, he'd just lie down and sleep in a corner of the room. The rat joined him there presently.
The wolf and the dog wrestled and Moony made it clear who the boss was. Padfoot registered it with some amusement. The wolf was almost as big as the dog and he was strong. For the largest part of the night they played around the house, but when Sirius got tired he nudged Moony up to the bedroom and onto the huge four poster bed in there. Then he laid down next to the wolf and licked him. Moony whined a bit and then finally found some sleep. Sirius kept licking for a while, then slept, too.
Remus woke up when the transformation back to his human form started and when it was over he fell back on the bed, exhausted, sore, spent. Sirius held up his dog form to keep the naked boy warm. Remus buried himself in the warm fur of his mate. Though they had yet to fully consume their relationship he knew full well that he had found his mate. He snuggled close to the dog and found sleep again.
James and Peter were up as soon as they heard Remus transform. When all was quiet again they went up to the bedroom to peek inside. Remus was sleeping curled around Sirius, who was still in his dog form.
"We let them sleep for yet another while... classes won't start for another two hours and Remus will need to get rest at the hospital wing until at least lunch time..." James said.
"But it takes quite a while to get back to the castle," Peter remarked.
"Right. Well, then we had better wake them up."
They woke up their friends and helped Remus to the hospital wing, where Poppy took care of him. A quick glance over her patient told her that he was probably only tired.
"A bath and then back to bed with you, Remus. And you three get a bit of rest and then off to breakfast!"
"Thank you, Madam Pomfrey..." they chorused and left, but not before Sirius had kissed Remus tenderly.
"I'll come by later, love," he promised.
In this manner the first part of the school year passed quite nicely. There were a bit less pranks, as James had toned it down quite a bit to woo his beloved Lily. He followed his mother's suggestions and Lily warmed up to him noticeably. She was a bit more integrated into James' circles because she was on the Quidditch team now, where she played her part very well.
All the while Remus and Sirius grew together more and more closely. They had decided to use the bed furthest away from James' and Peter's to not disturb them as much. And they didn't spend one night apart anymore. Remus' transformations were still painful, but he was able to bear them with more ease, knowing that he didn't have to be alone.
James was not too miffed when Sirius told him that the Lupins had invited him to spend Christmas with them. They also invited James and Peter for the last days of the vacation. Both happily promised to be there.
The trip home was a happy one. Rupert turned up for a part of it, but otherwise the Marauders were among themselves. Remus spent most of the time on Sirius' lap, either napping or snogging or reading. The others were amazed at the many things Sirius and Remus were able to do while sitting on each other's laps. They seemed to be connected with some invisible rope, as for the past months they had not been seen one without the other. It had exposed them to a number of very low jokes from the Slytherins, but they managed not to pay them any mind. Remus would hold his boyfriend in check, but they had hexed the Slytherins back a couple of times. Bellatrix had woken up one morning covered in blisters that oozed lots of water. They had looked awful, but were completely harmless. But it took two days until they vanished entirely and she was of course still fuming about the incident.
During the first term Remus and Sirius had both celebrated their seventeenth birthdays. They were now regarded as adults and with their birthdays coming they had received information letters from the Ministry that their restriction of performing magic outside of school had been lifted and that they were allowed to learn to apparate and to take their licensing test. Which they planned to do during the break in the days between Christmas and New Year.
When they arrived at King's Cross station the Lupins, Potters and Pettigrews were all there to welcome their children home. They all met up and greeted each other, then they fixed the dates when Peter and James would be going to the Lupins. The Potters knew of course that there would be a full moon, but Venetia and Richard had assured them that Remus was kept in a very secure cellar, so they didn't worry. After all, Remus had a rather large amount of siblings and those were all still very fine. And the Pettigrews were totally oblivious of that little fact, so they were happy to let Peter join his friends for the week after the New Year.
The Lupins took Rupert, Sirius and Remus to their well sized Muggle car and drove them to their home. When they got there, Remus pulled Sirius immediately up to his room and they dropped their trunks somewhere. Sirius looked around. The room was as neat as Remus was and looked very nice. There were loads of books of course, but it also contained a number of toys, stuffed animals and a big desk. It was colourful, friendly and cosy. Sirius loved it at once.
"Should have seen the mausoleum they kept me in at Grimmauld Place," he mumbled.
"Bad?"
"Worse. Dark, dank, dull, dreary would be the first adjectives that come to mind."
"Oh."
At dinner Sirius was surprised that there were a lot more siblings who came to welcome their younger brothers back from school. Richard, who was engaged to be married in spring, turned up with his fiancée, Marisa. He was thirty-four now, a fact that his mother didn't tire to tell him meant it was about time to settle down with a spouse. Sam was married, but she and her husband weren't in a hurry to have a house full of children. Still, they had a daughter who was three years old. Roxanne wasn't married, but she had twin girls who were two years old. The encounter that had led to the conception of the twins had been a mistake and the father didn't even know about the children. Roxanne had kicked him out before she had known herself. She had a steady boyfriend though and wasn't interested in getting married just yet.
"I thought you said a sister and two younger brothers, Remus..." Sirius whispered to Remus' ear after he'd been introduced to the whole family.
"Sorry. Didn't want to fill your head about all of them. I thought since you were so sad about your own failure of a family you'd be saddened even more knowing about mine..."
"Probably would have... back before we were together."
Sirius was introduced to Remus' older siblings as his boyfriend. Richard grinned broadly when he shook Sirius' hand and said:
"That's great! We've heard tons about you, Sirius, Remus usually doesn't shut up about you, James and Peter when he's here. It's great he's found more than a friend in you. You must have been the first people to accept him as a werewolf apart from us. He's always held the spot of our darling baby brother."
Sirius beamed. He was so happy for Remus to have such a good family. To have siblings who were looking out for him. He thought the girls were okay, too, Sam a casual and intelligent leader, Roxanne and Julia the more mischievous younger sisters.
"So, are things still as cosy as ever up in Gryffindor tower?" Roxanne asked.
"More than ever," Sirius replied, looking at his boyfriend.
"Great! I loved that place. It was so much home."
"It definitely is to us," Remus said.
Sirius was almost a bit intimidated by so much happy family. But he loosened up to it soon, because even more than Martha Potter Venetia cuddled him. He was amazed at her ability to do so, while she cuddled all of her children and the grandchildren at the same time. She was a very motherly type, but definitely one with a sharp intellect and her wit showed Sirius from where Remus had his dry humour. He opened up to his mother-in-law quickly, because she took some time to get to really know that boyfriend of her son's. After several conversations with him she told Richard one night when they went to bed:
"There's much in Sirius, Richard. You give him a chance to talk and he doesn't shut up about Remus. He really loves him."
"Would you believe that the Blacks were able to conceive someone like Sirius?" Richard said, grinning.
"Oh, he has told me a few things about them. He's really had a pretty hard time, I don't think he exaggerated anything. I rather expect him to have kept a few things secret."
"He's quite the character. But he seems to be sincere with Remus."
"Definitely. I've also had an owl from Poppy last week, telling me that Sirius is always there in the mornings after transformations, how much he cares for Remus and does everything to make it easier for him."
Richard slipped under the duvet and turned to Venetia. He was happy for his son. He'd much rather have him gay and in a happy relationship than straight and struggling to find an understanding partner.
"I imagine that the people at the Registry won't mind that he doesn't sire children either."
"So far it's not been proved that lycanthropy is hereditary, Richard."
"I know. But they still act like it is. This way will be easier. And he's happy. Have you ever seen him so cheerful?"
"No, I haven't. I'm only glad that he doesn't have to be alone. The family's all there for him, but that's not the same as a life partner. Having a couple of rock solid friends and the family will keep Remus on track. He's aiming to become an Auror, but you know firsthand how much he'll have to fight to become one."
"If he even gets the chance to apply. There's a load of people in the Ministry who think that no part-humans should be allowed to work there. But we couldn't do without brilliant young people like Remus, so I'll keep fighting to hold them up."
"There's something in the works. There's two potions masters who are working on a potion to alleviate the transformations. They're nowhere there yet though," Venetia said.
"Oh! Are you one of them?"
"No. But I know one of them. He's told me about his work. He'll be looking for people to help testing the potion sooner or later, but not just yet, that's why I'm not bringing it up just yet. I'm quite sure Remus would be interested. And I'm helping with some of the research."
"But that could be dangerous..."
"I know."
Remus and Sirius went to bed with no worries. They had made themselves familiar with each other's bodies and started to venture into more intimate things.
They had learned a few helpful spells from Poppy Pomfrey who was never too prudish to talk about sex. Any student who asked her questions got open replies. She taught the older girls to brew contraceptive potions or taught them the spells. She sometimes called boys to her office of whom she knew they were with a girl to check that they knew their responsibilities. And if they didn't they learned it on the spot. The school had long since kept up this approach to hormonal teenagers. It had been a co-ed school since the beginning a thousand years ago. It was the main marriage market in the wizarding world. Most of the relationships were formed at the school and confirmed later. There was rarely a child born out of wedlock because the school's nurses had seen to it that the students knew what they were doing. Talking about it quite openly had proved to be a fairly successful approach.
There were also fairly few divorces, mostly because the young adults were allowed to collect experiences with the other gender in a well protected and guarded surrounding.
And then there was the influence of the sixties and seventies in the Muggle world, which was brought into Hogwarts through the many Muggle-born students. They had brought in more open attitudes towards other models of living arrangements.
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 Dari Sanchez and Hope Foster turn up some in this story - they're Maple Tide's!
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!
4. Back to Hogwarts
Their return to Hogwarts a couple of days later meant the end of a week in heaven. On Platform 9 3/4 they met up with Richard and Venetia Lupin to give them Remus' suitcase. They still had a few minutes left. Remus looked up to his parents and said:
"Mum, dad, I've got something to tell you..."
"Yes, Remus? What is it?" Venetia asked back. His tone told her immediately that it was something important.
"I'm in love..." Remus said and worried his lower lip.
"Wow! Now there's a surprise, cub. Do we know her?" Richard asked, grinning.
"Him. And yes, you do know him," Remus replied.
Now Venetia knew. There was a reason for Remus' happy face when he received one of Sirius' letters after all, she thought. She didn't mind that at all. Thinking practically she knew how difficult things could get for Remus when it came to looking for a mate and from that point of view she found him being together with Sirius ideal. But were they together?
"So, are you and Sirius together, love?" she asked softly, giving her knowledge away.
Remus looked up at her, astonished.
"How d'you know it's Sirius?" he asked.
"Lucky guess!" she said, laughing. "Is it?"
"Yes. I really hope you don't mind that I won't give you any grandchildren..." Remus replied with a blush.
"As if there weren't enough candidates for that, Remus! Remember! You have three brothers and three sisters. Sources enough for grandchildren, sweetie."
Venetia hugged her son. His affliction had always made him closest to her of all of her children, even if she loved them all.
"I'm really glad for you to have found love, Remus. That's more important than a grandchild, you know! You should be happy and that will give you as much of a normal life as possible. And that makes me happy for you. Would you like to bring Sirius home for Christmas?"
Remus smiled so widely she thought his mouth was going to reach his ears. He threw his arms around her and almost sobbed.
"Oh mum, I'm so glad you're okay with it. I'll write you all about it when I'm back at Hogwarts, okay? Sirius will be so glad that you're okay with it."
"Where is he at all?" Venetia looked around until she saw Sirius talking with James a few metres away.
He caught her glance and looked back anxiously. She beckoned him over. He came and looked worried, but Venetia pulled him into a hug and said:
"Let me first congratulate you on getting away from that awful place, Sirius! I'm sure you're much happier now. And then let me ease your mind about being together with Remus. I'm glad it's you if it had to be another boy. You may know that for Richard and I only counts what makes Remus happy, and frankly, he is glowing right now. If that's because you two are a couple now I'm fine with it. Welcome to the family, Sirius!"
Sirius couldn't hold back his tears. He returned her hug and sobbed. She patted his shoulders and said:
"Come now, sweetie, there's no need to cry, now is there? You love each other, that's fine with me. And even though Richard still looks like a fish on dry land I'm sure he thinks the same..." Venetia teased her husband more than her future son-in-law.
Richard laughed. He pulled Remus into another hug and said:
"Don't worry, Remus, I'm fine with it, too. You two have been best friends for so many years already, I think that should be a good basis for a solid relationship. I really wish you all the best. You'll enjoy Hogwarts especially this year, there'll be a surprise for you people!"
"Oh! What is it, dad? Come on, if you know it would be so unfair not to tell us!"
"No, won't do anything like that. What surprise would it be if you already knew?"
"Aww! That's mean. To tease us with something you know and then not tell!" Remus said in protest with a slightly whiny tone.
Sirius had caught himself. He looked at the Lupin family and noticed that there were two other boys next to Remus' parents. And in that moment he noticed that he still barely knew anything about Remus' family.
"Oh, Sirius, this here is Rupert, and this is Rowland. They're my little brothers. Rupert starts Hogwarts this year."
"Oh..." was all Sirius could say at first. Then he held out his hand to shake Rupert's and Rowland's.
"Hi. I'm Sirius. You've probably heard about me..."
"Yeah, a bit..." Rupert said and grinned.
"Once a day or so..." Rowland filled in.
"Or once an hour every day..." Rupert went on.
And both boys dissolved into peals of laughter. Remus just gave them a little shove. While they fought with each other a lot the two of them were quite a mischievous pair. He looked forward to the Sorting to find out which house would become his brother's new home away from home.
"It'll be so dull at home with you all away," Rowland complained.
"You'll be off to Hogwarts very soon, too, love," his mother said.
Then she checked the time and said:
"Well, you people should hop on the train, it'll leave soon! Will you keep an eye on Rupert today, Remus?"
"Of course, mum. Though I'll have to go to the prefect's carriage for the start."
"That's okay, we'll take him with us, won't we, Sirius?" James offered.
"Of course! Can't but keep a watch over a Marauder's little brother... unless it's mine of course! Come, Rupert, you'll have a lot of fun on this ride!"
Soon they were settled into a compartment. Remus kissed Sirius and left for the prefect's carriage from where he returned an hour later with the latest information about what would be going on at Hogwarts in the weeks to come. He found his little brother happily playing Exploding Snap with James, Peter and Sirius. There was another boy in the compartment who looked like he was a first year. Remus recognised one of Rupert's school mates from the primary school.
The moment he opened the door to the compartment it looked like the sun had risen in Sirius' face. He beamed at his boyfriend. And said boyfriend beamed right back. Peter noticed and asked:
"Hey, did something happen while I was away from you guys?"
"You could say so, Peter. Be prepared for a LOT of sappiness going on in our dorm. Those two are like dripping honey! In other words, meet Hogwarts' newest dream couple..." James said with as much sarcasm as he could muster, but he couldn't hide a grin which belied his words somehow.
Since James was alright with it, Peter was. He said:
"Oy! Did it occur to either of you guys that you are in fact, err... two... guys? Together?"
Sirius grinned. He beamed at Remus, whom he had missed already, even if he had been away for only an hour.
"Yeah, it did, go figure!" he said.
"That's kind of the idea of being gay, Peter," Remus added.
"Oh..." was all Peter said.
And after a while:
"Well, it's good you're together, glad you won't be hitting on me then..."
James grinned and confirmed:
"Yes, I'm kind of glad about that, too! And I suppose my mum was as well."
And they all laughed. The rest of the ride passed in comfortable bantering, playing and of course Remus spent about half of it immersed in one of his books.
"How did you do on your OWLS, Peter?"
"Not as bad as I thought. Got one in Charms, Herbology, Divination and Care of Magical Creatures. So I'm now taking those, Defence and Transfiguration."
"Oh, great! That means we still share four of our subjects."
"That's great! How did yours go?"
"I'm quite happy about them! I got an O in Defence and Charms, E in Transfiguration, Potions, Herbology, Astronomy and Ancient Runes. And I've got an A in Arithmancy, too, but I'm dropping it. Don't need a teacher to study that anymore," Remus replied.
"Wow! That's quite impressive! How on earth did you manage an E in Potions? That will keep you in McGuire's NEWTS level class, won't it?"
"It will. And I have no idea, but the main factor could be that the examiners are a bit less biased and that they don't know I'm a werewolf..."
At that moment they remembered that they weren't as alone in the compartment as they usually were. Rupert of course knew everything about Remus' lycanthropy, but Danny, his friend, had no idea. He looked up at Remus, shocked, and was just starting to scream when Rupert put his hand on his mouth.
"Shit..." Remus said quietly.
He was so used to handling his lycanthropy casually when he was with his family or with the Marauders he had completely forgotten that there was someone else in the compartment.
"Dan, just calm down, please!" Rupert said and added: "I'll take my hand away if you nod and tell me that you won't scream, okay?"
Daniel nodded. Rupert took his hand away and explained:
"Sorry, Dan! I couldn't tell you, it isn't my secret to share, but now that Remus has been the idiot himself... I hope you will mind as little as we do, once you'll know that he's really okay. I mean, just how many years have you known him?"
"Quite a few..." Dan managed.
Remus looked at him anxiously.
"How can they let you into the school? And even make you a prefect?" he hissed then.
"Because I'm safe..." Remus said.
"No werewolf is safe!" Dan protested.
Sirius sighed. Then he looked Dan in the eyes and said:
"Werewolves are people like you and I except for that one night a month when they have to transform, Daniel. That means there is not the slightest reason for you to be afraid of Remus. Because on that particular night he leaves the castle for his transformation. That means he will be far away from you and you don't have to fear a thing. Believe me that there is nothing dangerous about Remus when he's a human. Apart from his sharp wit that is. He's been made a prefect because he's the most talented among us four and because he's the most reliable one. Can you see past the prejudices that everyone has loaded on you and accept that he has a right to get a good education just like every other wizard or witch?"
"I don't know..." Daniel said, sounding very insecure.
"Tell you what. When we get to Hogwarts you'll be sorted and then we'll have a little chat with Professor Dumbledore about it, okay?" James said.
"Okay."
"And may we ask you that you do not repeat any of this to anyone until then? Because it's kept quiet that Remus is a werewolf to not cause more of the reactions you just showed. If people don't know they won't worry about it. Remus carries a heavy burden, but he's holding up under it and he's never yet endangered anyone," Sirius added.
"Okay."
Luckily the trip ended shortly after that and they all left to catch one of the carriages to school. Remus gave Rupert a little shove in Hagrid's direction.
"There's Hagrid, Roop. You two go with him."
"I'll have an eye on Dan until the Sorting is over, Remus, okay?"
"Thanks, Roop! I'm such an idiot."
"He'll keep his mouth shut."
Remus followed the other three Marauders to a carriage and snuggled close to Sirius during the ride. He was really scared that little Daniel would spill the beans before they could have him in Dumbledore's office, where he would probably be obliviated.
The moment they reached the Great Hall, Remus and Sirius went to talk to the headmaster who was already at his place at the teachers' table.
"Professor Dumbledore, could we have a word in private with you before the Sorting, please? It's quite important," Sirius said.
"If it is that important, yes, please step into the little room here..."
Once the door was closed, Remus told Dumbledore about his mistake on the train.
"Daniel Norris? Well, if he should be sorted into any house other than Gryffindor, where you can keep him under control until after the feast I'll obliviate him. If he is getting into Gryffindor you can see to it that he does not say anything. I should think that this will suffice."
Remus was relieved.
"Yes, that should do just fine. Thank you, Professor."
"You are very welcome, my boy. I would really like to see you leave Hogwarts at the end of your seventh year, not before that."
Remus beamed.
"Now you should rejoin your friends at the Gryffindor table. I am sure we are almost ready to start the Sorting. You wouldn't want to miss seeing your brother sorted, would you?"
They all returned to the Great Hall and the boys took their seats on the spots Peter and James had kept free for them. Remus took Sirius' hand under the table. He followed the Sorting. There were a couple of new Gryffindors in the first few first years to be sorted. Then Professor McGonagall called:
"Lupin, Rupert."
Rupert hopped to the stool, sat down and vanished under the hat, which shouted "GRYFFINDOR" only seconds later. Rupert took it off, beamed and was off to the table where his brother sat in a dash.
"Hey, Roop! Glad you made it here!" Remus said, beaming, too.
"Me too! It's just the coolest house!"
His housemates could only agree with that and welcomed their newest member with lots of applause. They turned to see what would happen with Daniel. He came up and was sorted into Hufflepuff. Remus looked over to Dumbledore surreptitiously and saw that the headmaster had lifted his hand only slightly in Daniel's direction. He sighed with relief. Daniel would be oblivious of that disastrous knowledge now and would be all the better for it. Rupert was a bit sad that his best friend from primary school was in a different house.
"Don't worry, Rupert, you can still be friends with Dan! There's the library and the Great Hall where you can spend free time together."
"Yeah, you're right."
"And you're surely going to make some friends here in Gryffindor."
After the feast and the speech from Dumbledore the new fifth year Gryffindor prefects rounded up the first years and took them up to the Gryffindor tower. Remus turned to Sirius and was about to go when he heard Dumbledore calling him:
"Mr. Lupin, a word please."
Remus turned around. Dumbledore smiled and said:
"It's been taken care of. You need not worry that it will be spread."
"Thank you, sir! I was such a fool not to keep my mouth shut."
"On the other hand it is very nice to know that you can be at ease around some people, Remus. You must cherish that."
"Yes, I do. You have not even an idea to what extent."
And he gave Sirius a mischievous glance.
"That is excellent. Have a good night, gentlemen!"
"Good night, Professor!" Remus and Sirius chorused.
They followed their housemates up to the tower slowly. Their curfew wasn't just yet, so they took their time. Sirius took Remus' hand and held it tightly in his own.
"How do you feel about it, Remus? Would you mind that people knew about us or do you want to keep it among us?" Sirius asked.
"I want to make it clear that you're mine, love! I'm not about to start worrying about others flocking around you. They may look, but definitely not touch! Besides it will chase away all those girls trying to get your attention."
Sirius grinned. He loved Remus' possessiveness. For the first time in his life he didn't worry about being someone's 'possession' as he wanted to belong to Remus fully. Walking up the many stairs they moved closer and by the time they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady Sirius had his arms around Remus' shoulders and Remus' was firmly around Sirius' waist.
"Well, what do we have here? If you two aren't quite the lovebirds..." the Fat Lady said.
She was chatting with a lady from another portrait and Remus knew that now the news about their relationship would be spread within hours. He gave the Fat Lady the password, she swung forward and let them enter through the big hole behind her. When they stepped through they noticed that there were only a few fifth, sixth and seventh years left in the room, the younger ones were all on the way to their dormitories already. Some of their housemates looked around to see who was coming in late. Seeing the couple, some of them gaped quite open-mouthed.
"We just wanted to let everyone know that both of us are taken!" Sirius declared, grinning.
Some of the people looked rather non-plussed. Some of the girls looked deeply disappointed that two of the best looking Gryffindor sixth years were unavailable for the female population of the school and others just shrugged. Lily Evans actually came to them and smiled. Sirius knew that the smile was meant for Remus, who was the only one of the Marauders Lily actually liked.
"Congratulations, Remus, that's good to know! You need someone..."
"Thanks, Lily. He's good for me, believe me! And we're very happy," Remus declared.
"Good!"
Soon the excitement died down and within days they were back into the routine of classes again. Of course the rumour about the gay couple went through the school within a day, but they sat it out and after a while the whispers died down.
The surprise turned out to be additional Quidditch matches with two teams from Beauxbatons who would come to play two friendship games in a mini tournament around the Easter break with the two top house teams of Hogwarts. That was a reason for James, who was the new captain of the Gryffindor team to rouse them early three times a week to do physical exercises and Quidditch training. Three players had left the team at the end of the last year and so there was need to hold tryouts for a second Beater, a Keeper and a Seeker. The positions were filled with a third year for the Beater, Lily Evans as Keeper and Remus as the new Seeker. After that was made known to Madam Hooch she scheduled the Gryffindor matches so that none of them would fall on a full moon night or the two days around. Remus had then accepted the position without fear of discovery or failing the team. Sirius trained his new Beater colleague hard. It was fun for him and he quickly managed to bring the new team member up to speed.
And who would have thought that Lily was a superb Keeper? She had tried out because her friend Dari had asked her to. Dari Sanchez was a Chaser, together with James and a now fifth year named Mary Robins. James was quite happy with the new team, but he already planned to find reserves to build up a team for the time after the now five sixth years would leave.
Barely ten days after the start of the term was the first full moon night. Remus surprised his friends by suggesting:
"Why don't we tell Poppy Pomfrey about you guys? She already knows that you know, but I think it would be good to have at least a few adults know about your Animagi."
James, Sirius and Peter pondered this for a day and then they decided to give it a try. They went to the hospital wing on the Saturday before the full moon and were lucky, too, as no one was there at the moment. Poppy looked at them and asked:
"Hello there. Anything amiss with one of you?"
"No, Madam Pomfrey. It's just, we wanted to talk to you about something concerning Remus..." Sirius said.
"What is it?" she asked.
She immediately softened down when it was about Remus, because he had become her little darling. She was quite protective of him.
"Well, only indirectly. You see, the three of us did something once we knew he was a werewolf. We searched for something that would help him and found out that werewolves are not dangerous to animals. Magical or non-magical," James started.
"That's interesting. If he'd bite any of them they wouldn't be affected normally, that's right. And?"
"Well, that gave us lots to think about. First we thought we'd just find a big dog or something, like a friend for him, you know. But then we came back to our third year and Professor McGonagall talked about Animagi..." Sirius continued.
Poppy's eyes went wide.
"Tell me you didn't go ahead and do something that foolish to try..." she said, almost choking.
"Actually, yes, we did... and we managed it last year..." James said, grinning.
"Look!" Remus said and then there were three animals, looking at the nurse.
Peter, the rat, quickly climbed up the stag's legs and body to place himself between the antlers. James, the stag, scratched the floor with his hooves and Padfoot, the dog, barked and let his tongue loll. Remus immediately petted Sirius and got his face licked.
"Wow."
That was all she said.
"That's amazing. Can you turn back?"
Within seconds the three boys were back. She stared at them, truly in awe. She was amazed that they had mastered the transformation and she was amazed at the display of friendship towards Remus. She looked at Remus, who smiled.
"Does anyone else know about this?" she asked.
"No," Sirius said.
"You know that you need to be registered."
"Yes, but we thought we'd do that after we leave Hogwarts," James said.
"Good. I suppose you want me to keep quiet about this?"
"If you could do that we'd be very relieved. We just thought we needed to have an adult or two who know about it."
"So you are actually spending the full moon nights with Remus?" she asked.
The boys nodded.
"Dear me... what if he bites you?"
"Been there, done that... nothing happens. We've wrestled quite a bit and of course I caught a bite or two, but since I'm still not a werewolf it apparently doesn't matter," Sirius said, beaming.
"That relieves me quite a bit, Sirius. What about Peter? I mean, he's a pretty tiny rat and normally a wolf wouldn't bother with a rat long..."
"He was quite scared the first time we went in, but we knew he was also small enough to slip out anywhere or to hide easily, so it wasn't so bad. Turned out that the wolf must have accepted us as a pack or something," James said.
"This is absolutely amazing. Are you sure you don't want to entrust Albus and Minerva with this? I'm sure they'd explode at first, but then they'd probably just be proud of you. That's no small feat, especially since you have mastered it at such a young age and on your own!"
"We'll think about it. We thought to tell you first, because you noticed that I hardly had more than a few little scratches the last three transformations before the summer break."
"So that was why. Well, I never! You three are really good friends, I don't think that's ever been done before for such a reason! Thank you for trusting me with your secret."
On the full moon night Remus went to the Whomping Willow, which he was now allowed to do alone. He usually went there on a hidden path from a not very well known exit out of the castle so he wouldn't be spotted from the school. He waited for his friends, who joined him not much later. They were good and stayed inside of the Shrieking Shack for the night. James watched how Moony reacted to Padfoot. And he was amazed, because the wolf really was fond of the dog, groomed and licked him for a long time and growled at him and Peter. James almost laughed about it. He decided that if the canines wanted to be alone, he'd just lie down and sleep in a corner of the room. The rat joined him there presently.
The wolf and the dog wrestled and Moony made it clear who the boss was. Padfoot registered it with some amusement. The wolf was almost as big as the dog and he was strong. For the largest part of the night they played around the house, but when Sirius got tired he nudged Moony up to the bedroom and onto the huge four poster bed in there. Then he laid down next to the wolf and licked him. Moony whined a bit and then finally found some sleep. Sirius kept licking for a while, then slept, too.
Remus woke up when the transformation back to his human form started and when it was over he fell back on the bed, exhausted, sore, spent. Sirius held up his dog form to keep the naked boy warm. Remus buried himself in the warm fur of his mate. Though they had yet to fully consume their relationship he knew full well that he had found his mate. He snuggled close to the dog and found sleep again.
James and Peter were up as soon as they heard Remus transform. When all was quiet again they went up to the bedroom to peek inside. Remus was sleeping curled around Sirius, who was still in his dog form.
"We let them sleep for yet another while... classes won't start for another two hours and Remus will need to get rest at the hospital wing until at least lunch time..." James said.
"But it takes quite a while to get back to the castle," Peter remarked.
"Right. Well, then we had better wake them up."
They woke up their friends and helped Remus to the hospital wing, where Poppy took care of him. A quick glance over her patient told her that he was probably only tired.
"A bath and then back to bed with you, Remus. And you three get a bit of rest and then off to breakfast!"
"Thank you, Madam Pomfrey..." they chorused and left, but not before Sirius had kissed Remus tenderly.
"I'll come by later, love," he promised.
In this manner the first part of the school year passed quite nicely. There were a bit less pranks, as James had toned it down quite a bit to woo his beloved Lily. He followed his mother's suggestions and Lily warmed up to him noticeably. She was a bit more integrated into James' circles because she was on the Quidditch team now, where she played her part very well.
All the while Remus and Sirius grew together more and more closely. They had decided to use the bed furthest away from James' and Peter's to not disturb them as much. And they didn't spend one night apart anymore. Remus' transformations were still painful, but he was able to bear them with more ease, knowing that he didn't have to be alone.
James was not too miffed when Sirius told him that the Lupins had invited him to spend Christmas with them. They also invited James and Peter for the last days of the vacation. Both happily promised to be there.
The trip home was a happy one. Rupert turned up for a part of it, but otherwise the Marauders were among themselves. Remus spent most of the time on Sirius' lap, either napping or snogging or reading. The others were amazed at the many things Sirius and Remus were able to do while sitting on each other's laps. They seemed to be connected with some invisible rope, as for the past months they had not been seen one without the other. It had exposed them to a number of very low jokes from the Slytherins, but they managed not to pay them any mind. Remus would hold his boyfriend in check, but they had hexed the Slytherins back a couple of times. Bellatrix had woken up one morning covered in blisters that oozed lots of water. They had looked awful, but were completely harmless. But it took two days until they vanished entirely and she was of course still fuming about the incident.
During the first term Remus and Sirius had both celebrated their seventeenth birthdays. They were now regarded as adults and with their birthdays coming they had received information letters from the Ministry that their restriction of performing magic outside of school had been lifted and that they were allowed to learn to apparate and to take their licensing test. Which they planned to do during the break in the days between Christmas and New Year.
When they arrived at King's Cross station the Lupins, Potters and Pettigrews were all there to welcome their children home. They all met up and greeted each other, then they fixed the dates when Peter and James would be going to the Lupins. The Potters knew of course that there would be a full moon, but Venetia and Richard had assured them that Remus was kept in a very secure cellar, so they didn't worry. After all, Remus had a rather large amount of siblings and those were all still very fine. And the Pettigrews were totally oblivious of that little fact, so they were happy to let Peter join his friends for the week after the New Year.
The Lupins took Rupert, Sirius and Remus to their well sized Muggle car and drove them to their home. When they got there, Remus pulled Sirius immediately up to his room and they dropped their trunks somewhere. Sirius looked around. The room was as neat as Remus was and looked very nice. There were loads of books of course, but it also contained a number of toys, stuffed animals and a big desk. It was colourful, friendly and cosy. Sirius loved it at once.
"Should have seen the mausoleum they kept me in at Grimmauld Place," he mumbled.
"Bad?"
"Worse. Dark, dank, dull, dreary would be the first adjectives that come to mind."
"Oh."
At dinner Sirius was surprised that there were a lot more siblings who came to welcome their younger brothers back from school. Richard, who was engaged to be married in spring, turned up with his fiancée, Marisa. He was thirty-four now, a fact that his mother didn't tire to tell him meant it was about time to settle down with a spouse. Sam was married, but she and her husband weren't in a hurry to have a house full of children. Still, they had a daughter who was three years old. Roxanne wasn't married, but she had twin girls who were two years old. The encounter that had led to the conception of the twins had been a mistake and the father didn't even know about the children. Roxanne had kicked him out before she had known herself. She had a steady boyfriend though and wasn't interested in getting married just yet.
"I thought you said a sister and two younger brothers, Remus..." Sirius whispered to Remus' ear after he'd been introduced to the whole family.
"Sorry. Didn't want to fill your head about all of them. I thought since you were so sad about your own failure of a family you'd be saddened even more knowing about mine..."
"Probably would have... back before we were together."
Sirius was introduced to Remus' older siblings as his boyfriend. Richard grinned broadly when he shook Sirius' hand and said:
"That's great! We've heard tons about you, Sirius, Remus usually doesn't shut up about you, James and Peter when he's here. It's great he's found more than a friend in you. You must have been the first people to accept him as a werewolf apart from us. He's always held the spot of our darling baby brother."
Sirius beamed. He was so happy for Remus to have such a good family. To have siblings who were looking out for him. He thought the girls were okay, too, Sam a casual and intelligent leader, Roxanne and Julia the more mischievous younger sisters.
"So, are things still as cosy as ever up in Gryffindor tower?" Roxanne asked.
"More than ever," Sirius replied, looking at his boyfriend.
"Great! I loved that place. It was so much home."
"It definitely is to us," Remus said.
Sirius was almost a bit intimidated by so much happy family. But he loosened up to it soon, because even more than Martha Potter Venetia cuddled him. He was amazed at her ability to do so, while she cuddled all of her children and the grandchildren at the same time. She was a very motherly type, but definitely one with a sharp intellect and her wit showed Sirius from where Remus had his dry humour. He opened up to his mother-in-law quickly, because she took some time to get to really know that boyfriend of her son's. After several conversations with him she told Richard one night when they went to bed:
"There's much in Sirius, Richard. You give him a chance to talk and he doesn't shut up about Remus. He really loves him."
"Would you believe that the Blacks were able to conceive someone like Sirius?" Richard said, grinning.
"Oh, he has told me a few things about them. He's really had a pretty hard time, I don't think he exaggerated anything. I rather expect him to have kept a few things secret."
"He's quite the character. But he seems to be sincere with Remus."
"Definitely. I've also had an owl from Poppy last week, telling me that Sirius is always there in the mornings after transformations, how much he cares for Remus and does everything to make it easier for him."
Richard slipped under the duvet and turned to Venetia. He was happy for his son. He'd much rather have him gay and in a happy relationship than straight and struggling to find an understanding partner.
"I imagine that the people at the Registry won't mind that he doesn't sire children either."
"So far it's not been proved that lycanthropy is hereditary, Richard."
"I know. But they still act like it is. This way will be easier. And he's happy. Have you ever seen him so cheerful?"
"No, I haven't. I'm only glad that he doesn't have to be alone. The family's all there for him, but that's not the same as a life partner. Having a couple of rock solid friends and the family will keep Remus on track. He's aiming to become an Auror, but you know firsthand how much he'll have to fight to become one."
"If he even gets the chance to apply. There's a load of people in the Ministry who think that no part-humans should be allowed to work there. But we couldn't do without brilliant young people like Remus, so I'll keep fighting to hold them up."
"There's something in the works. There's two potions masters who are working on a potion to alleviate the transformations. They're nowhere there yet though," Venetia said.
"Oh! Are you one of them?"
"No. But I know one of them. He's told me about his work. He'll be looking for people to help testing the potion sooner or later, but not just yet, that's why I'm not bringing it up just yet. I'm quite sure Remus would be interested. And I'm helping with some of the research."
"But that could be dangerous..."
"I know."
Remus and Sirius went to bed with no worries. They had made themselves familiar with each other's bodies and started to venture into more intimate things.
They had learned a few helpful spells from Poppy Pomfrey who was never too prudish to talk about sex. Any student who asked her questions got open replies. She taught the older girls to brew contraceptive potions or taught them the spells. She sometimes called boys to her office of whom she knew they were with a girl to check that they knew their responsibilities. And if they didn't they learned it on the spot. The school had long since kept up this approach to hormonal teenagers. It had been a co-ed school since the beginning a thousand years ago. It was the main marriage market in the wizarding world. Most of the relationships were formed at the school and confirmed later. There was rarely a child born out of wedlock because the school's nurses had seen to it that the students knew what they were doing. Talking about it quite openly had proved to be a fairly successful approach.
There were also fairly few divorces, mostly because the young adults were allowed to collect experiences with the other gender in a well protected and guarded surrounding.
And then there was the influence of the sixties and seventies in the Muggle world, which was brought into Hogwarts through the many Muggle-born students. They had brought in more open attitudes towards other models of living arrangements.