Title: Baby Boom! 7/18
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!
7. Spring Term
But amidst all that studying there was still the boys' blossoming love, which they enjoyed quite openly. The next Hogsmeade weekend came and the sixth and seventh years were allowed out a bit longer than the rest. Sirius had convinced James and Peter it would be lovely if they got dates to go to Hogsmeade, so they wouldn't just brood over Remus' and his relationship, but enjoy some happiness of their own. Remus had even gone so far as to chat up a cute Hufflepuff fifth year girl he knew Peter had a crush on, because Peter was too shy. He found out that the girl wouldn't mind going out with Peter. She must have been as shy as Peter was, so with a little help from their friends Peter got the girl. Once together the two seemed very happy. James of course was still after Lily, but she still mostly turned up her pretty nose. Until one day in the common room James exploded:
"You know, Lily, in some ways you're as conceited as you claim me to be! You've just got that image of me in your head and you won't let go, because you're as stubborn as a mule! Or is it that you find pleasure in seeing me crawling in the dirt in front of you? Sooner or later I'll quit, you know!"
With that he stormed off to the dormitory and Dari said:
"He's not all wrong about that, Lily, you know."
Lily shot her an evil glance and stalked off to her own dormitory. Sirius and Remus looked at Dari and they all shrugged.
Dari, being the good friend she was, went after Lily and talked to her some more.
"Lily, I know you hate James' guts sometimes, but I also know you don't hate James. He's not just trying to get in your pants, he's in love with you. Hasn't he shown you dozens of times this year? What about all the flowers and the cards? Have you ever seen him with another girl? He's really given you a thoughtful gift for Christmas. He's not been as evil to Snape as he used to be. You should really award him for that restraint, because Snivellus is as evil as he always was. It must have cost James a lot not to hex him half the time Snape provoked him."
This was sound reasoning and Lily knew it. She looked at Dari and said:
"I can't just give in, Dari..."
"Why not? There's a point where you just have to concede. You can always go back on your decision if he takes up hexing people again just because he can. I don't think he will, Lily, because I think he's growing up."
On the other side of the tower Remus talked with James.
"I know that you were right to explode, James, but don't give up just yet. I think she shows signs of giving in..."
"I thought so, too, but that was just a moment I couldn't take any more. What else can I do but show her I've grown up? I love her! There are days I really don't know just why I love her, but I know I do. It's not just that I'm trying to get her and then drop her."
"I know. But if you see her again at dinner go to her and apologise for exploding and ask her out once more. You didn't mind the rejections so far, so what's one more if you're convinced she's the one."
James sighed deeply. Then he nodded and said:
"You're right. That would be a good tactic."
And so in the same evening James passed Lily before going down to the Great Hall for dinner and said softly:
"I'm sorry for exploding like that, Lily. Can you forgive me?"
She looked him in the eyes and said:
"Yeah, I guess I was a bit very harsh. I'm sorry, too."
"So would you go to Hogsmeade with me this Saturday?"
She sighed.
"Oh well, yes, if that's what it takes to get some peace..."
James couldn't hide his grin as he joined the other Marauders at the dinner table. They watched him throwing dreamy glances over at Lily, who sat a few seats away on the other side of the table with Dari and two other girls. Dari looked over to him and gave him a smile and a thumbs up sign. He turned back to his food. All was not lost yet.
"She said yes..." he remarked casually.
"She said yes? To go to Hogsmeade with you? That's great, mate!" Sirius said and beamed.
James nodded happily.
"So what are we going to do then? Just hang around?" he asked.
Remus rolled his eyes.
"Take her for a long walk! Listen to her for a while and find common grounds. You're not dumb, James, but sometimes you're dense, you know! If you're entirely uninterested in what she's interested in she'll not be impressed. I don't mean that you've got to show interest in every bit, but there must be some subjects you're both getting along."
"Thanks for that advice, mate," James said glumly.
Remus just grinned. He felt Sirius' hand on his thigh and sighed, too, but happily. They would be off looking for rings. Then on Monday they were due for the visit at the Ministry to sign their papers. He didn't feel all that comfortable that Sirius was now officially his guardian, but he shoved it away knowing that the true leader in their relationship was himself.
The Hogsmeade weekend dawned with a crispy cold but clear January morning. The students walked down to the village in thick throngs or in couples. Many of the older students used these weekends to go out with their girlfriends or boyfriends. The Marauders, Lily and Sabina, Peter's new girlfriend walked together, but separated soon after reaching Hogsmeade. Sirius took off with Remus to the jeweller's shop. They found it on the main road, a quaint little house all covered with snow and a small window showing off some lovely jewellery. They went inside and were met by the owner of the shop. When they asked to see wedding rings he looked at them slightly reproachful, but he didn't want to lose their business so he said nothing. They looked over the selection and finally decided on a pair of lovely red gold rings containing one single tiny ruby. The rings were immediately fitted to their fingers and they had their names and the date of their mating engraved. Sirius gave the jeweller his Gringotts vault number and after a quick check with the bank they could leave the shop, both wearing their new rings. They held hands as they walked through the village to Honeyduke's, where they bought a selection of sweets to last them until the next Hogsmeade weekend. Sirius added some extra chocolate for Remus to his pile.
Some of their classmates whom they met on the streets and in the shops noticed their new rings. Most commented in a friendly way. Sirius and Remus had not kept their relationship a secret, so the whole school knew about them being together. But of course there were still taunts about it, mostly from Slytherins.
A few metres before the entrance of the Three Broomsticks where they wanted to meet up with their friends they were accosted by some of the Slytherins. Bellatrix Black, Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange, Sirius's brother Regulus were among them, Snape, Wilkes and Avery were behind them. There were a lot of people on the road, but even when Sirius and Remus were bound into a circle none of the adults or other students intervened. The gang had a bad name at Hogsmeade already, they were known to most of the salesmen and the people usually avoided having anything to do with them. Most of them were also banned from the Three Broomsticks.
"Hey, look who we have here... two little poofs out on a walk. Aren't they just cute and poncy?" Rodolphus Lestrange asked in a sing-sang voice.
"Why, if it isn't my brave little cousin," Bellatrix went on.
"Oh, and just look! They're wearing rings, isn't it sweeeet?" Regulus cooed.
"And? What's it to you?" Sirius asked.
Neither he nor Remus showed much respect and when some of the Slytherins pulled out their wands to start hexing them, Sirius and Remus only exchanged a glance and cried, at the same time, without even pulling their own wands.
"Expelliarmus!"
The power of their spell didn't only make the Slytherin's wands fly, but most of the other peoples' around as well. And the people. Many around the two found themselves on the ground while Sirius and Remus just shrugged and left to the pub.
"What the heck was that?" Avery asked Rodolphus Lestrange.
"No idea. But something's fishy. I'll find out. This kind of power would be of interest for the Dark Lord, that much is sure."
Remus and Sirius had found an empty table in the meantime and Remus went to get the drinks. He noticed the two of the group of Slytherins who were still allowed in the pub coming in. Regulus and Rabastan watched him taking his drinks over to Sirius. Then he got up and went straight to the two fourth years to tell them off:
"As a prefect I'm warning you not to cause any more trouble or I shall have to not only take points from Slytherin but hand out detentions. Is that clear?"
His tone made it clear that he was no push-over. Rabastan still thought another taunt was called for and replied:
"You can't throw me out of here. Besides you're nothing but a weak little homo..."
"I may be gay but that doesn't make me weak, Rabastan. You'd better back down while you can still do it without pain. We only disarmed you out there, but believe me, I could do much worse to you. Now leave or I'll have Madam Rosmerta get you out."
Regulus didn't want to push it any further and pulled his classmate out of the pub. Remus returned to the table and sat down on the bench next to Sirius. They were soon joined there by Peter and Sabina.
"Hey, what went on outside? We've heard lots of talking about two guys who didn't use their wands to disarm about two dozen people around them. Could only have been you two, eh?" Peter asked.
"Bellatrix's gang thought they had a chance getting at us surrounding us out on the street. We just showed them that they were slightly wrong," Remus said.
"Cool! But I bet their curiosity has been stirred now."
"I'm afraid so. But I know that Dumbledore wants them to know, and this was a natural opportunity. I'm sure they'll report it to their homes and from there it will go to Voldemort," Sirius said.
"Why would Dumbledore want them to know?" Sabina asked.
"Can't talk about that here. It's a part of a scheme he has," Remus said.
"That contains you two as part of it? Ouch. Rather you than I! This You-Know-Who guy scares me to death."
"Voldemort, Sabina. I really don't like that new fashion of the Daily Prophet of referring to him as You-Know-Who. It's ridiculous. Voldemort's real name is Tom Riddle," Remus said.
Sabina looked at him with admiration.
"Well, if I had the power to disarm two dozen people without so much as lifting my wand I'd not be afraid either," she said.
"We're just as afraid of him as you are, Sabina. But Professor Dumbledore says fear of the name only increases the fear of the thing itself and that's precisely what Voldemort wants. He wants us all in fear so he can go ahead and massacre everyone who doesn't fit into his spectrum of tolerated people," Remus told her.
To everyone's surprise Peter piped up and put an arm around his girlfriend.
"I think, Remus is right, Sabina. We have to remember that this is only a man and not some kind of an Über-person, he can only cook with water just like everyone else."
"Bravo, Wormtail, that's the spirit!" Sirius applauded his friend.
"It's just - they're killing so many people. And so many others have just vanished," Sabina said shyly.
"You're right. And apart from Dumbledore no one really does anything against it. They just stand there not knowing what to do it seems. The Minister had to be CONVINCED by at least four heads of departments to finally get into gear. My dad has stocked up on Auror training. He also started to offer additional defence training for everyone who is interested in self-defence," Remus said.
James and Lily joined them a few minutes later. They had heard about the incident, too, and wanted to hear all about it. Half the school passed by their table in the course of the afternoon to hear all about that incident on the street. By the time they returned to Hogwarts and went to the Great Hall for dinner it was all over the school and even all the teachers had already heard about it. One of the passers-by who had been caught in the spell had collected his wand and practically ran to the school to talk with Dumbledore. He promptly called them to his office after dinner.
They sat down in front of his desk and Remus apologised:
"I'm sorry, sir. We didn't want to hex them or fight with them, but we would have had to, they were seven and we were in the middle of them. No one seemed to want to interfere, so we decided to disarm them..."
"That is quite alright, my boy. In fact I am convinced it will be reported to Voldemort. Sooner or later he will seek you out. What I want to do is to talk about protection for the two of you for when you are not at Hogwarts. We need to intensify your training. It seems that casting that spell has increased your individual power. We will test certain spells and their strength under these conditions. If the two of you are in harmony you will achieve a great number of things."
Dumbledore took the boys to a room where they usually trained and had them levitate very heavy objects. They managed alone, but when they tried the spell together even the heaviest stone flew to the ceiling. And when they focused their magic with a wand they almost broke the ceiling. So they whispered the spell and still levitated a big block.
"Quite amazing. Try an Incendio spell on this large wooden block in the grate there..."
They pointed their wands and cast the spell. The log burned up immediately. Dumbledore conjured a larger log, and then yet a larger one, and then one that barely fit inside of the fireplace, but all of them were gone within minutes of the two boys casting their spells together.
"I see that we shall have to take this to another part of the castle. There is too much wood in here. The more destructive part of your training will be held in the dungeons, but a good bit away from the Slytherin common room, do not worry. There are parts of this castle that no one knows but me and the old headmistresses and headmasters. Now try a Reducto curse on this block of stone!"
Dumbledore conjured a huge block of stone and Sirius and Remus had a go at it, wandless first, which cut the stone in half, then with their wands, first one half and then the other. They reduced the two slabs to dust.
"Amazing. That will be all for today, boys, you have spent a considerable amount of energy tonight. Go and get some rest. By the way - I commend you for not choosing to hex the Slytherin students. It's always better to find a solution like disarming an opponent."
"Thank you, Professor," the boys chorused, then they left the office to return to their house.
Dumbledore stayed back, looked down on the dust from the stones and repeated several times: "Remarkable. They are truly remarkable."
If Dumbledore had promised to intensify the training he hadn't promised too much. The boys worked with him and Flitwick, then there were two Aurors who overlooked their defensive and even some offensive spell-casting, they learned more in Potions than they liked and McGonagall and Dumbledore both worked them in Transfiguration. They also took some time off to learn some basic healing magic from Madam Pomfrey, who was only too pleased to teach them.
But before all that they had to go to the Ministry. They were allowed to floo from the Headmaster's office directly to the Ministry. They reported to the Werewolf Registry where some of the staff looked down on Sirius for getting involved so intimately with a werewolf, but he remained calm. He knew there would be more of that contempt from many people. He had stamped himself a bit of an outcast, too, when he got mated with his Remus, but as long as they had their friends and their family they didn't really feel bad. There were a bunch of papers to be signed and that done they were free to return to Hogwarts. As Remus was still one school year away from finishing his education his new married status as well as his condition would not be turned public just yet.
"Did everything pass alright?" Dumbledore asked them upon their return.
"Without a hitch. I'm quite sure they don't even realise that there's one top powerful werewolf walking all over Hogwarts," Sirius grinned.
"Good. Though sooner or later it will come up, but I hope we can get you through Hogwarts before that is the case. Voldemort won't know that you are a werewolf, but that you are powerful, the Werewolf Registry will know you are a werewolf, but not that you are powerful. I think I like the beauty of that."
"I'm not so sure I like it myself. I feel a bit manipulated in all of that," Remus sighed.
"I am trying not to manipulate you, but I will not hold back that I am very interested in having you in my ranks, Remus. But foremost let me assure you that I am especially fond of you. You have grown from a shy little boy to a very self-confident one! We would not have chosen you for prefect if we did not think you were very able to do it."
Remus and Sirius returned to Gryffindor tower and spent the rest of the afternoon behind closed curtains and silencing charms making love. Since starting out they had discovered many things they liked doing. Remus loved it when he could lay on his side, Sirius behind him and Sirius liked it most on his back, Remus taking him from the front. And in the middle were many shades of grey which they all enjoyed. But they usually ended up with Remus' favourite position at the end, just before falling asleep. Remus wiggled his hindquarters a little to get the most comfortable snug position in Sirius' crotch and Sirius pulled him closer to make sure that his cock found a nice tight bed between Remus' legs. Sirius usually pushed it right behind his mate's testicles.
They woke up in the middle of the night. The dormitory was quiet apart from Peter's soft snoring. Sirius kissed Remus and asked:
"Hungry?"
"Quite. Kitchen raid?"
"Yep!"
They opened the curtains, only to find a plate of food for each of them, kept warm by a charm. Both looked fondly over to James, sending a silent thank you for sparing them the long walk down to the kitchen. They gobbled up their food, put the plates back on the bedside table and pulled the curtains close again.
"That was even better, saved us from having to go all the way down..." Remus remarked.
"...let alone coming all the way up again," Sirius added, snuggling closer to his husband.
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!
7. Spring Term
But amidst all that studying there was still the boys' blossoming love, which they enjoyed quite openly. The next Hogsmeade weekend came and the sixth and seventh years were allowed out a bit longer than the rest. Sirius had convinced James and Peter it would be lovely if they got dates to go to Hogsmeade, so they wouldn't just brood over Remus' and his relationship, but enjoy some happiness of their own. Remus had even gone so far as to chat up a cute Hufflepuff fifth year girl he knew Peter had a crush on, because Peter was too shy. He found out that the girl wouldn't mind going out with Peter. She must have been as shy as Peter was, so with a little help from their friends Peter got the girl. Once together the two seemed very happy. James of course was still after Lily, but she still mostly turned up her pretty nose. Until one day in the common room James exploded:
"You know, Lily, in some ways you're as conceited as you claim me to be! You've just got that image of me in your head and you won't let go, because you're as stubborn as a mule! Or is it that you find pleasure in seeing me crawling in the dirt in front of you? Sooner or later I'll quit, you know!"
With that he stormed off to the dormitory and Dari said:
"He's not all wrong about that, Lily, you know."
Lily shot her an evil glance and stalked off to her own dormitory. Sirius and Remus looked at Dari and they all shrugged.
Dari, being the good friend she was, went after Lily and talked to her some more.
"Lily, I know you hate James' guts sometimes, but I also know you don't hate James. He's not just trying to get in your pants, he's in love with you. Hasn't he shown you dozens of times this year? What about all the flowers and the cards? Have you ever seen him with another girl? He's really given you a thoughtful gift for Christmas. He's not been as evil to Snape as he used to be. You should really award him for that restraint, because Snivellus is as evil as he always was. It must have cost James a lot not to hex him half the time Snape provoked him."
This was sound reasoning and Lily knew it. She looked at Dari and said:
"I can't just give in, Dari..."
"Why not? There's a point where you just have to concede. You can always go back on your decision if he takes up hexing people again just because he can. I don't think he will, Lily, because I think he's growing up."
On the other side of the tower Remus talked with James.
"I know that you were right to explode, James, but don't give up just yet. I think she shows signs of giving in..."
"I thought so, too, but that was just a moment I couldn't take any more. What else can I do but show her I've grown up? I love her! There are days I really don't know just why I love her, but I know I do. It's not just that I'm trying to get her and then drop her."
"I know. But if you see her again at dinner go to her and apologise for exploding and ask her out once more. You didn't mind the rejections so far, so what's one more if you're convinced she's the one."
James sighed deeply. Then he nodded and said:
"You're right. That would be a good tactic."
And so in the same evening James passed Lily before going down to the Great Hall for dinner and said softly:
"I'm sorry for exploding like that, Lily. Can you forgive me?"
She looked him in the eyes and said:
"Yeah, I guess I was a bit very harsh. I'm sorry, too."
"So would you go to Hogsmeade with me this Saturday?"
She sighed.
"Oh well, yes, if that's what it takes to get some peace..."
James couldn't hide his grin as he joined the other Marauders at the dinner table. They watched him throwing dreamy glances over at Lily, who sat a few seats away on the other side of the table with Dari and two other girls. Dari looked over to him and gave him a smile and a thumbs up sign. He turned back to his food. All was not lost yet.
"She said yes..." he remarked casually.
"She said yes? To go to Hogsmeade with you? That's great, mate!" Sirius said and beamed.
James nodded happily.
"So what are we going to do then? Just hang around?" he asked.
Remus rolled his eyes.
"Take her for a long walk! Listen to her for a while and find common grounds. You're not dumb, James, but sometimes you're dense, you know! If you're entirely uninterested in what she's interested in she'll not be impressed. I don't mean that you've got to show interest in every bit, but there must be some subjects you're both getting along."
"Thanks for that advice, mate," James said glumly.
Remus just grinned. He felt Sirius' hand on his thigh and sighed, too, but happily. They would be off looking for rings. Then on Monday they were due for the visit at the Ministry to sign their papers. He didn't feel all that comfortable that Sirius was now officially his guardian, but he shoved it away knowing that the true leader in their relationship was himself.
The Hogsmeade weekend dawned with a crispy cold but clear January morning. The students walked down to the village in thick throngs or in couples. Many of the older students used these weekends to go out with their girlfriends or boyfriends. The Marauders, Lily and Sabina, Peter's new girlfriend walked together, but separated soon after reaching Hogsmeade. Sirius took off with Remus to the jeweller's shop. They found it on the main road, a quaint little house all covered with snow and a small window showing off some lovely jewellery. They went inside and were met by the owner of the shop. When they asked to see wedding rings he looked at them slightly reproachful, but he didn't want to lose their business so he said nothing. They looked over the selection and finally decided on a pair of lovely red gold rings containing one single tiny ruby. The rings were immediately fitted to their fingers and they had their names and the date of their mating engraved. Sirius gave the jeweller his Gringotts vault number and after a quick check with the bank they could leave the shop, both wearing their new rings. They held hands as they walked through the village to Honeyduke's, where they bought a selection of sweets to last them until the next Hogsmeade weekend. Sirius added some extra chocolate for Remus to his pile.
Some of their classmates whom they met on the streets and in the shops noticed their new rings. Most commented in a friendly way. Sirius and Remus had not kept their relationship a secret, so the whole school knew about them being together. But of course there were still taunts about it, mostly from Slytherins.
A few metres before the entrance of the Three Broomsticks where they wanted to meet up with their friends they were accosted by some of the Slytherins. Bellatrix Black, Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange, Sirius's brother Regulus were among them, Snape, Wilkes and Avery were behind them. There were a lot of people on the road, but even when Sirius and Remus were bound into a circle none of the adults or other students intervened. The gang had a bad name at Hogsmeade already, they were known to most of the salesmen and the people usually avoided having anything to do with them. Most of them were also banned from the Three Broomsticks.
"Hey, look who we have here... two little poofs out on a walk. Aren't they just cute and poncy?" Rodolphus Lestrange asked in a sing-sang voice.
"Why, if it isn't my brave little cousin," Bellatrix went on.
"Oh, and just look! They're wearing rings, isn't it sweeeet?" Regulus cooed.
"And? What's it to you?" Sirius asked.
Neither he nor Remus showed much respect and when some of the Slytherins pulled out their wands to start hexing them, Sirius and Remus only exchanged a glance and cried, at the same time, without even pulling their own wands.
"Expelliarmus!"
The power of their spell didn't only make the Slytherin's wands fly, but most of the other peoples' around as well. And the people. Many around the two found themselves on the ground while Sirius and Remus just shrugged and left to the pub.
"What the heck was that?" Avery asked Rodolphus Lestrange.
"No idea. But something's fishy. I'll find out. This kind of power would be of interest for the Dark Lord, that much is sure."
Remus and Sirius had found an empty table in the meantime and Remus went to get the drinks. He noticed the two of the group of Slytherins who were still allowed in the pub coming in. Regulus and Rabastan watched him taking his drinks over to Sirius. Then he got up and went straight to the two fourth years to tell them off:
"As a prefect I'm warning you not to cause any more trouble or I shall have to not only take points from Slytherin but hand out detentions. Is that clear?"
His tone made it clear that he was no push-over. Rabastan still thought another taunt was called for and replied:
"You can't throw me out of here. Besides you're nothing but a weak little homo..."
"I may be gay but that doesn't make me weak, Rabastan. You'd better back down while you can still do it without pain. We only disarmed you out there, but believe me, I could do much worse to you. Now leave or I'll have Madam Rosmerta get you out."
Regulus didn't want to push it any further and pulled his classmate out of the pub. Remus returned to the table and sat down on the bench next to Sirius. They were soon joined there by Peter and Sabina.
"Hey, what went on outside? We've heard lots of talking about two guys who didn't use their wands to disarm about two dozen people around them. Could only have been you two, eh?" Peter asked.
"Bellatrix's gang thought they had a chance getting at us surrounding us out on the street. We just showed them that they were slightly wrong," Remus said.
"Cool! But I bet their curiosity has been stirred now."
"I'm afraid so. But I know that Dumbledore wants them to know, and this was a natural opportunity. I'm sure they'll report it to their homes and from there it will go to Voldemort," Sirius said.
"Why would Dumbledore want them to know?" Sabina asked.
"Can't talk about that here. It's a part of a scheme he has," Remus said.
"That contains you two as part of it? Ouch. Rather you than I! This You-Know-Who guy scares me to death."
"Voldemort, Sabina. I really don't like that new fashion of the Daily Prophet of referring to him as You-Know-Who. It's ridiculous. Voldemort's real name is Tom Riddle," Remus said.
Sabina looked at him with admiration.
"Well, if I had the power to disarm two dozen people without so much as lifting my wand I'd not be afraid either," she said.
"We're just as afraid of him as you are, Sabina. But Professor Dumbledore says fear of the name only increases the fear of the thing itself and that's precisely what Voldemort wants. He wants us all in fear so he can go ahead and massacre everyone who doesn't fit into his spectrum of tolerated people," Remus told her.
To everyone's surprise Peter piped up and put an arm around his girlfriend.
"I think, Remus is right, Sabina. We have to remember that this is only a man and not some kind of an Über-person, he can only cook with water just like everyone else."
"Bravo, Wormtail, that's the spirit!" Sirius applauded his friend.
"It's just - they're killing so many people. And so many others have just vanished," Sabina said shyly.
"You're right. And apart from Dumbledore no one really does anything against it. They just stand there not knowing what to do it seems. The Minister had to be CONVINCED by at least four heads of departments to finally get into gear. My dad has stocked up on Auror training. He also started to offer additional defence training for everyone who is interested in self-defence," Remus said.
James and Lily joined them a few minutes later. They had heard about the incident, too, and wanted to hear all about it. Half the school passed by their table in the course of the afternoon to hear all about that incident on the street. By the time they returned to Hogwarts and went to the Great Hall for dinner it was all over the school and even all the teachers had already heard about it. One of the passers-by who had been caught in the spell had collected his wand and practically ran to the school to talk with Dumbledore. He promptly called them to his office after dinner.
They sat down in front of his desk and Remus apologised:
"I'm sorry, sir. We didn't want to hex them or fight with them, but we would have had to, they were seven and we were in the middle of them. No one seemed to want to interfere, so we decided to disarm them..."
"That is quite alright, my boy. In fact I am convinced it will be reported to Voldemort. Sooner or later he will seek you out. What I want to do is to talk about protection for the two of you for when you are not at Hogwarts. We need to intensify your training. It seems that casting that spell has increased your individual power. We will test certain spells and their strength under these conditions. If the two of you are in harmony you will achieve a great number of things."
Dumbledore took the boys to a room where they usually trained and had them levitate very heavy objects. They managed alone, but when they tried the spell together even the heaviest stone flew to the ceiling. And when they focused their magic with a wand they almost broke the ceiling. So they whispered the spell and still levitated a big block.
"Quite amazing. Try an Incendio spell on this large wooden block in the grate there..."
They pointed their wands and cast the spell. The log burned up immediately. Dumbledore conjured a larger log, and then yet a larger one, and then one that barely fit inside of the fireplace, but all of them were gone within minutes of the two boys casting their spells together.
"I see that we shall have to take this to another part of the castle. There is too much wood in here. The more destructive part of your training will be held in the dungeons, but a good bit away from the Slytherin common room, do not worry. There are parts of this castle that no one knows but me and the old headmistresses and headmasters. Now try a Reducto curse on this block of stone!"
Dumbledore conjured a huge block of stone and Sirius and Remus had a go at it, wandless first, which cut the stone in half, then with their wands, first one half and then the other. They reduced the two slabs to dust.
"Amazing. That will be all for today, boys, you have spent a considerable amount of energy tonight. Go and get some rest. By the way - I commend you for not choosing to hex the Slytherin students. It's always better to find a solution like disarming an opponent."
"Thank you, Professor," the boys chorused, then they left the office to return to their house.
Dumbledore stayed back, looked down on the dust from the stones and repeated several times: "Remarkable. They are truly remarkable."
If Dumbledore had promised to intensify the training he hadn't promised too much. The boys worked with him and Flitwick, then there were two Aurors who overlooked their defensive and even some offensive spell-casting, they learned more in Potions than they liked and McGonagall and Dumbledore both worked them in Transfiguration. They also took some time off to learn some basic healing magic from Madam Pomfrey, who was only too pleased to teach them.
But before all that they had to go to the Ministry. They were allowed to floo from the Headmaster's office directly to the Ministry. They reported to the Werewolf Registry where some of the staff looked down on Sirius for getting involved so intimately with a werewolf, but he remained calm. He knew there would be more of that contempt from many people. He had stamped himself a bit of an outcast, too, when he got mated with his Remus, but as long as they had their friends and their family they didn't really feel bad. There were a bunch of papers to be signed and that done they were free to return to Hogwarts. As Remus was still one school year away from finishing his education his new married status as well as his condition would not be turned public just yet.
"Did everything pass alright?" Dumbledore asked them upon their return.
"Without a hitch. I'm quite sure they don't even realise that there's one top powerful werewolf walking all over Hogwarts," Sirius grinned.
"Good. Though sooner or later it will come up, but I hope we can get you through Hogwarts before that is the case. Voldemort won't know that you are a werewolf, but that you are powerful, the Werewolf Registry will know you are a werewolf, but not that you are powerful. I think I like the beauty of that."
"I'm not so sure I like it myself. I feel a bit manipulated in all of that," Remus sighed.
"I am trying not to manipulate you, but I will not hold back that I am very interested in having you in my ranks, Remus. But foremost let me assure you that I am especially fond of you. You have grown from a shy little boy to a very self-confident one! We would not have chosen you for prefect if we did not think you were very able to do it."
Remus and Sirius returned to Gryffindor tower and spent the rest of the afternoon behind closed curtains and silencing charms making love. Since starting out they had discovered many things they liked doing. Remus loved it when he could lay on his side, Sirius behind him and Sirius liked it most on his back, Remus taking him from the front. And in the middle were many shades of grey which they all enjoyed. But they usually ended up with Remus' favourite position at the end, just before falling asleep. Remus wiggled his hindquarters a little to get the most comfortable snug position in Sirius' crotch and Sirius pulled him closer to make sure that his cock found a nice tight bed between Remus' legs. Sirius usually pushed it right behind his mate's testicles.
They woke up in the middle of the night. The dormitory was quiet apart from Peter's soft snoring. Sirius kissed Remus and asked:
"Hungry?"
"Quite. Kitchen raid?"
"Yep!"
They opened the curtains, only to find a plate of food for each of them, kept warm by a charm. Both looked fondly over to James, sending a silent thank you for sparing them the long walk down to the kitchen. They gobbled up their food, put the plates back on the bedside table and pulled the curtains close again.
"That was even better, saved us from having to go all the way down..." Remus remarked.
"...let alone coming all the way up again," Sirius added, snuggling closer to his husband.