Title: Baby Boom! 8/18
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!
8. One Year later
In the course of the past year, Sirius and Remus had both noticed a few minor changes in their bodies. Sirius' chest hair vanished. The hair on his arms was practically gone. And both their nipples had changed form, they were now looking slightly puckered, had become much larger and had a very dark surrounding. They had also greatly gained in sensitivity.
They celebrated their first anniversary a few days after the actual event with a dinner for two at Hogsmeade. Both were just as deeply in love with each other as they had been at the start. They both agreed that their feelings for each other had only intensified over the past year. Coming back from their evening out they went straight to their dorm and closed the curtains of Remus' bed for a night of intensive love-making.
For a year they had been trained up in many things that went far beyond the Hogwarts education. Times had gone from bad to worse and the Hogwarts staff had become Secret Keepers for many a household of endangered students. Much to the Death Eaters' dismay there were now many people they couldn't find anymore and this did nothing to lift Voldemort's moods. For a while he concentrated his attacks on the Muggles, but now he was making another effort to find those super-powerful young wizards again, of whom he had heard talking more than once.
But Remus and Sirius were among those who were covered by the Fidelius charm. For the time being their training was a bit less intensive, so they could work more for the preparation for their NEWTS. Both were doing well in their studies. Both were now able to pull considerable magical stunts, alone and even more so together. They knew they were one of Voldemort's prime targets and that they would have to face him sooner or later.
Dumbledore waited. He had withheld one piece of information from the two young men, one important piece of information. The mating meant a subtle change in the build of their bodies. To the outside only the small change of their nipples was a sign of what developed on the inside. The vanishing of their body hair would have been another, but it was so slow they had hardly noticed. Now, one year after their mating their bodies were ready for the next step, of which Dumbledore had not whispered anything to anyone. He waited. Sooner or later it would happen. Sooner or later Poppy would come and inform him of...
"Albus, may I have a word with you?"
It was shortly before Easter and it was Poppy who called him through the fire.
"Yes, Poppy, of course. Should I come down to your office?"
"That would be most kind."
He got there only minutes later, expecting to hear what he had been waiting for. She looked very puzzled when she told him:
"Remus has not transformed last night. He went almost crazy, thought that something was wrong with him and it distressed him almost more than his transformations."
Dumbledore drew a long breath. Remus it was. And it meant he would not transform for a while.
"I believe he will not transform for a while. You should apply a pregnancy test on him, Poppy."
"A WHAT? Albus, you ARE aware that Remus Lupin is a male, aren't you?"
"Yes, I am. Remus Lupin is also a life-bonded male werewolf. One consequence of werewolves who are life-bonded is a subtle change inside of their body. Male partners develop ovaries, tubes and an uterus. The same probably happened to Sirius. It is usually finished a year after their bonding."
Poppy was floored! She thought she had seen a slight change in Remus' nipples.
"Oh! And you think that a pregnancy suppresses his transformations until the baby is born?"
"Yes. No baby would survive his transformations, not even in the early stages."
"I would think not. Nature is something very strange sometimes and when magic comes into play it can become even more astonishing. I'll conduct that test immediately, he's still there. Sirius is with him."
"They really love each other, do they not?"
"Absolutely. Sirius is there for Remus all the way! Do you want to wait here for the result?"
"I cannot deny that I am very curious, Poppy. I shall wait."
Albus sat down, Poppy prepared the test potion and took it over to the young men. Sirius looked up.
"Do you know what happened, Madam Pomfrey? I don't dare hoping that he's cured just like that..."
"No, I don't think he is. Remus, could you please go and put some urine into this beaker? We'll have to make a little test."
Remus looked up, blushed, but took the beaker and vanished to the loo. He came back and Poppy put a small amount into the test fluid, the rest she banished back to the toilet.
"Five minutes and we will know what is going on, boys," she said with a smile.
They were five long minutes. Sirius and Remus waited, spent their time caressing each other and kissing and when the little sound came that ended the time they all looked to the vial containing the test. It had turned from yellow to blue.
"Well, that's it. Remus, brace yourself, I have some really important news for you."
He looked at her very anxiously.
"I'm not going to die in the next month, am I?" he asked.
"No, that you certainly won't. But you did not transform because there's something in your belly who would have died. You are going to have a baby."
"What? But... but I'm a guy! How can I have a baby in there?"
"That's what I thought, but Professor Dumbledore explained to me that all mated werewolves develop the necessary female body parts within a year after their mating. He said that you probably have these, too, Sirius. If you wish I can show it to you..."
"You can make that visible?" Sirius asked, fascinated, before he really realised that he was concerned, too. And that his husband was expecting a baby.
"Yes, I can."
Poppy cast a spell that made Sirius practically see-through. Both he and Remus looked at the sight in awe. Poppy looked at him, too and covered her mouth with her hand.
"Sirius, go and give me a sample of your urine, too, please."
"What? You're not telling me I am pregnant, too!" he grinned.
She just summoned a clean beaker and pointed to the toilet. Sirius vanished and she went back to her office to prepare another test.
"Is he?" Albus asked in a low voice.
"Yes, he is, just fresh though. Sirius probably is, too! How could you not tell them about this, Albus? They could have prevented a pregnancy!"
"And they would have. But I actually did not want that. I will be subject to their wrath, but once their babies will be born they will reach the full potential of their power. And then - woe to Voldemort. We need them to get rid of this creature once they are through school. We will go down over short or long without their power, Poppy. I am not as strong as I used to be. Until then we shall cuddle them - and their babies - and I shall teach them as much as I can. And hopefully they will be able to enjoy a long and happy life as a family after that."
Poppy sighed and couldn't help herself, she glared at him.
"Always using people like chess pieces. Shame on you, Albus. I don't think that was a very nice move. But I suppose we have to live with your fait-accompli."
She went out of her office and put a few drops of Sirius' urine into the test. Another five minutes wait. Sirius stroked over Remus' belly tenderly. He kissed his husband and held him close.
"We'll get through this, love. It's not like I expected to ever have a child, let alone two of them, and if I had known we'd be fully functional men AND women we could have done something to prevent this. But we'll live with it, don't you think?"
Remus nodded.
"Don't know if I can get myself to study especially well while suffering from morning sickness..."
"On the other hand, no transformations until the baby is born, love."
Remus managed a weak smile. A few months of rest before the monthly pain would be back. Then his face darkened.
"Madam Pomfrey, what do you think, will the baby be a werewolf, too?"
"I don't know, Remus. But I don't think so. So far I haven't heard that this can be inherited."
Sirius watched the yellow fluid. It turned blue.
"Well. Now we know. Luckily you will be in the second trimester when you will have to sit your NEWTS, that will make that bit a lot easier. With your robes it might even be that no one notices it before school will be over for you. I can imagine that this will not exactly be fun for you if word gets out."
Both young men shook their heads. Poppy checked them up and said:
"I'll call the local medimidwife from Hogsmeade over in the next days for a better inspection. She'll be able to give you an approximate date for the birth and examine you more thoroughly. I don't see anything amiss right now. I'll send word to you when she'll be here."
"Okay."
"You might want to catch the Headmaster for a few words..." she called after them as they left the hospital wing.
"We will!"
Dumbledore took their wrath with an even temper and finally explained why he provoked this for them. He could feel that they didn't hate their pregnancies, but they of course resented not to have been informed about this bit of development and made it their own choice when to have a child. They returned to the dormitory, calling James, Peter, Dari and Lily to come with them. Once they reached their room they sat down and told their friends:
"Anyone of you in the mood to become godparents?"
The four friends stared at them, then at each other.
"Why do you ask that?" James wanted to know.
"Because Dumbledore neglected to tell us about another consequence of our mating. That both of us would become fully functional hermaphrodites. Well, there isn't any vagina yet, but everything else is there and that means we are now both pregnant. Apparently the necessary equipment to give birth will be developed with the pregnancy. That was the reason why Remus didn't transform last night," Sirius explained.
While Peter and James looked at their male friends with open mouths, Dari and Lily started to hoot and congratulated the two on their pregnancies.
"Of course I want to be the godmother of one of your children, Sirius!" Dari cried.
"Me too! I'd love to. I take it you're not going to tell anyone else?"
"No. You can let Sabina know, Peter, but nobody else. We will of course tell my parents and siblings. Not yet though..." Remus said.
"Well, you could just scratch by... you may need a bit wider robes though," Lily said.
"Yes, but we'll see how it goes. We'll be almost five months gone by the time we have to sit NEWTS."
"Half the term. That's not too bad, really. You could have hit it worse. Like giving birth when you should sit NEWTS," Dari remarked.
"I don't even want to think of it. I'm not really mad to be pregnant, but I'm really mad at Dumbledore who WANTED to let this happen. He says that now we will both reach our full potential and our magical power will increase to the maximum."
"And just because he thinks you will have a go at Voldemort he risks to make you so mad that you possibly might rush to the other side?" James was speechless.
"Well, we wouldn't do that, whatever happens. These people are too despicable. But it does hurt quite a bit to be regarded as a secret weapon."
"We'll all be there with you - the whole way through!" Dari promised passionately.
Remus and Sirius regarded her fondly.
"Thanks, Dari! You're really a great friend!"
"Well, that's what friends are for! You guys deserve to have people supporting you."
"That's true. Dumbledore really singled you out with all that - and building you up as his most dangerous weapon. I think, Dari is right. I'll back you up fully, too!" Lily confirmed.
"Make that three," James said.
"Four," Peter added, "and probably five, once Sabina hears of it."
"Thanks, guys! We really appreciate your loyalty!" Remus said, tears blinking in his eyes.
The medimidwife showed up the next week, checked them both up and declared the babies were doing just fine and they would be born around the beginning of December. Dumbledore immediately informed the couple that they would receive rooms at Hogwarts where they could go on studying after school and prepare for the birth. They would be perfectly safe here.
"Don't know if my mum is going to share that opinion if any more such stuff happens," Remus said to Sirius.
They decided to write home and ask Richard and Venetia to come and see them at Hogwarts. Nothing like that had ever happened before so they turned up right the next weekend. In the Headmaster's presence the young men explained their condition to Richard and Venetia. At the end Richard started to grin and Venetia smiled.
"Wow. So much for not giving us any grandchildren, Remus! So now you're going to give birth almost at the same time...?"
"Mine will probably be first," Sirius said, "seems it's about a week older..."
"Well, that's really cute! But you had better not let it come so far that WE have to become the parents of these two little buttons, just because you're breeding two lethal human weapons, Albus!" Venetia turned to Dumbledore while she said this.
"I do hope and believe that they will enjoy a very nice family life together, Venetia."
"They better!"
The next few weeks of school were not quite easy for either of the pregnant young men, because they found themselves plagued with a bit of morning sickness and with raging hormones, but they managed and were even able to study. By the time exam week started they were as prepared as they could be. Their bellies had grown considerably, but only their dorm-mates, Lily, Sabina and Dari had seen them. Their breasts had started to develop slowly, too.
The exams started. There were tests every day, but for Remus and Sirius the practical tests were just a bit of an exercise. They both did some of their required spells wandless and with their wands, so they got some extra points.
And once the NEWTS were over it was only a matter of days until their time at Hogwarts came to an end. They returned home to the Lupins' place and discussed plans for their lives. Sirius was wealthy enough for them to afford their own house, but how long could they go with two children to be born soon without earning money on their own?
"You know that you are both welcome to stay here until you have jobs of your own?" Venetia reminded them.
"Dumbledore says the same of Hogwarts, but we didn't want that. Not before he has some real plans what we should do to help about Voldemort. Obviously that can't be before the babies are born. Your offer is much more welcome," Sirius said.
"Good. You can help around the house and do those studies you still want to do."
So they spent their summer in the garden and around the house, doing a lot of reading and regularly visited their friends or had them over at their place. Once Rupert and Rowland were both at Hogwarts it was very quiet and they enjoyed their time with Venetia and Richard. They went to see a medimidwife regularly and prepared for the birth. About a month before the babies were due both men noticed the change of their bodies which made themselves ready to give birth. Dumbledore assured them that their sexual organs would return to normal once the babies were born.
"Apart from the boobs, I guess," Sirius muttered.
"Well, you do want to feed your little one, don't you?" Remus asked tenderly.
"Yes, I guess so..."
Lily and James had both found jobs at the Ministry. Lily worked at the Department of Experimental Charms and James had been chosen as an Auror trainee. Peter had found work at a wizarding shop in Diagon Alley. Sabina still had a year at Hogwarts. Since the Lupins lived in Wales they weren't all too far away from the others who had all moved to London. Sirius was quite glad not to live in the city. He liked to go there but he had grown very accustomed to life in the country. He could always apparate to where he wanted to go anyway.
Sleeping together became a bit of a difficult thing. They now had to sleep back to back, so that their bellies wouldn't get in the way. One day Venetia snuck into their room to take a picture of them sleeping this way.
Finally the waiting found an end. Sirius' baby wanted out. It was the fifth of December when he realised that the slight pain he felt was the beginning of the birth. After a few hours and a fretting Remus who had to be soothed all the time the medimidwife was called in and together with Venetia she helped Sirius giving birth to a healthy baby girl who was named Vega Black-Lupin. Sirius was very exhausted, but so happy he cried when he held his little girl in his arms. She was just bundled up in a blanket and her face was still crunched up and red, but she was a lovely little girl with Remus' brown eyes and Sirius' black hair. He kissed her on the nose and looked up to his husband.
"She's beautiful, Remus, don't you think?" he whispered.
"Yes, Siri, she is."
"And she's hungry, Sirius, let her suckle..." Venetia said softly from the other side.
She helped her son-in-law who still felt quite awkward about it all. But that didn't faze the mother of seven who had all the routine needed to help him. After a few minutes Vega consumed her first meal and was then allowed to go on her papa's arms.
"Hey, love! Welcome! You're one lovely little girl and it's an amazing feeling to finally meet you. You'll meet your little sibling in a few days, sweetheart."
Remus held the baby tightly and then gave her back to Sirius who had been cleaned up in the meantime and was ready to go to sleep and rest up.
They had barely seven days time to get used to their daughter when it was Remus' time. It took long and he had a harder time of it than Sirius, but at the end of thirty hours Remus gave birth to a healthy boy. Polaris was quite a strong child who looked like Sirius. He was thoroughly checked, but there was no evidence that he had inherited Remus' werewolf.
"The next full moon will be in eight days, we can't but wait and see what happens. I don't think we'll need more than a solid ward around his cot, he's still so small," Richard said.
Remus thought it would be horrible if his little boy would have to go through what he had to endure every month. He knew that in only a week he'd go through that horrible transformation again.
The full moon night came up and Sirius went down into the cellar with Remus. The babies would be fed with the bottle that night. Richard and Venetia anxiously watched the warded crib in which their grandson lay. The moon came up, they could hear Remus down in the cellar, but the little boy did not transform. He just slept peacefully and never noticed when Richard took down the ward and left the room with the representative from the Werewolf Registry.
"Well, that at least takes a heavy load off my shoulders," Richard admitted, when he had closed the door.
"He doesn't show the least bit of a sign that he inherited the werewolf. I do suggest that you should watch him closely for a couple of full moons though."
"We will certainly do that. It's bad enough that Remus has to go through this every month. It would have been tragic if he'd passed it on and he would hate himself for it. He'll be more than relieved. Since Polaris' birth he's been very anxious."
"The way I have learned to know your son he must have been. He is a very special werewolf. I have never met anyone quite like him."
"He is a special person. He'll always have a special place in our hearts, Masterson."
"He's your son after all. Other parents have just chucked their children out when they were turned. I tend to deeply respect all those who stick to their children."
"Thank you. And thanks for your visit and witnessing. We're very happy about these two children."
"You're welcome. Good night, Lupin. Goodbye, Mrs Lupin!" he called to Venetia and left through the front door from where he disapparated.
The first thing Remus asked when he saw his mother in the morning was whether Polaris was okay.
"Yes, love, he hasn't transformed. He's perfectly fine. You can relax, sweetheart."
"I'm so glad..."
Remus was out of it for most of the day. They woke him to feed Polaris, but he did it only half awake. That was enough for the baby though and after the next night they were both getting better.
Sirius fared quite well with Vega. His little daughter was as strong as her brother and suckled eagerly every time he offered her the nipple. It still hurt him a bit, but after the two weeks since her birth things started to get regular and he felt better.
Once they had a certain rhythm Sirius and Remus exchanged the baby they nursed every other time. They needed to get close to both their children and with them being only a week apart they could swap without any problems.
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!
8. One Year later
In the course of the past year, Sirius and Remus had both noticed a few minor changes in their bodies. Sirius' chest hair vanished. The hair on his arms was practically gone. And both their nipples had changed form, they were now looking slightly puckered, had become much larger and had a very dark surrounding. They had also greatly gained in sensitivity.
They celebrated their first anniversary a few days after the actual event with a dinner for two at Hogsmeade. Both were just as deeply in love with each other as they had been at the start. They both agreed that their feelings for each other had only intensified over the past year. Coming back from their evening out they went straight to their dorm and closed the curtains of Remus' bed for a night of intensive love-making.
For a year they had been trained up in many things that went far beyond the Hogwarts education. Times had gone from bad to worse and the Hogwarts staff had become Secret Keepers for many a household of endangered students. Much to the Death Eaters' dismay there were now many people they couldn't find anymore and this did nothing to lift Voldemort's moods. For a while he concentrated his attacks on the Muggles, but now he was making another effort to find those super-powerful young wizards again, of whom he had heard talking more than once.
But Remus and Sirius were among those who were covered by the Fidelius charm. For the time being their training was a bit less intensive, so they could work more for the preparation for their NEWTS. Both were doing well in their studies. Both were now able to pull considerable magical stunts, alone and even more so together. They knew they were one of Voldemort's prime targets and that they would have to face him sooner or later.
Dumbledore waited. He had withheld one piece of information from the two young men, one important piece of information. The mating meant a subtle change in the build of their bodies. To the outside only the small change of their nipples was a sign of what developed on the inside. The vanishing of their body hair would have been another, but it was so slow they had hardly noticed. Now, one year after their mating their bodies were ready for the next step, of which Dumbledore had not whispered anything to anyone. He waited. Sooner or later it would happen. Sooner or later Poppy would come and inform him of...
"Albus, may I have a word with you?"
It was shortly before Easter and it was Poppy who called him through the fire.
"Yes, Poppy, of course. Should I come down to your office?"
"That would be most kind."
He got there only minutes later, expecting to hear what he had been waiting for. She looked very puzzled when she told him:
"Remus has not transformed last night. He went almost crazy, thought that something was wrong with him and it distressed him almost more than his transformations."
Dumbledore drew a long breath. Remus it was. And it meant he would not transform for a while.
"I believe he will not transform for a while. You should apply a pregnancy test on him, Poppy."
"A WHAT? Albus, you ARE aware that Remus Lupin is a male, aren't you?"
"Yes, I am. Remus Lupin is also a life-bonded male werewolf. One consequence of werewolves who are life-bonded is a subtle change inside of their body. Male partners develop ovaries, tubes and an uterus. The same probably happened to Sirius. It is usually finished a year after their bonding."
Poppy was floored! She thought she had seen a slight change in Remus' nipples.
"Oh! And you think that a pregnancy suppresses his transformations until the baby is born?"
"Yes. No baby would survive his transformations, not even in the early stages."
"I would think not. Nature is something very strange sometimes and when magic comes into play it can become even more astonishing. I'll conduct that test immediately, he's still there. Sirius is with him."
"They really love each other, do they not?"
"Absolutely. Sirius is there for Remus all the way! Do you want to wait here for the result?"
"I cannot deny that I am very curious, Poppy. I shall wait."
Albus sat down, Poppy prepared the test potion and took it over to the young men. Sirius looked up.
"Do you know what happened, Madam Pomfrey? I don't dare hoping that he's cured just like that..."
"No, I don't think he is. Remus, could you please go and put some urine into this beaker? We'll have to make a little test."
Remus looked up, blushed, but took the beaker and vanished to the loo. He came back and Poppy put a small amount into the test fluid, the rest she banished back to the toilet.
"Five minutes and we will know what is going on, boys," she said with a smile.
They were five long minutes. Sirius and Remus waited, spent their time caressing each other and kissing and when the little sound came that ended the time they all looked to the vial containing the test. It had turned from yellow to blue.
"Well, that's it. Remus, brace yourself, I have some really important news for you."
He looked at her very anxiously.
"I'm not going to die in the next month, am I?" he asked.
"No, that you certainly won't. But you did not transform because there's something in your belly who would have died. You are going to have a baby."
"What? But... but I'm a guy! How can I have a baby in there?"
"That's what I thought, but Professor Dumbledore explained to me that all mated werewolves develop the necessary female body parts within a year after their mating. He said that you probably have these, too, Sirius. If you wish I can show it to you..."
"You can make that visible?" Sirius asked, fascinated, before he really realised that he was concerned, too. And that his husband was expecting a baby.
"Yes, I can."
Poppy cast a spell that made Sirius practically see-through. Both he and Remus looked at the sight in awe. Poppy looked at him, too and covered her mouth with her hand.
"Sirius, go and give me a sample of your urine, too, please."
"What? You're not telling me I am pregnant, too!" he grinned.
She just summoned a clean beaker and pointed to the toilet. Sirius vanished and she went back to her office to prepare another test.
"Is he?" Albus asked in a low voice.
"Yes, he is, just fresh though. Sirius probably is, too! How could you not tell them about this, Albus? They could have prevented a pregnancy!"
"And they would have. But I actually did not want that. I will be subject to their wrath, but once their babies will be born they will reach the full potential of their power. And then - woe to Voldemort. We need them to get rid of this creature once they are through school. We will go down over short or long without their power, Poppy. I am not as strong as I used to be. Until then we shall cuddle them - and their babies - and I shall teach them as much as I can. And hopefully they will be able to enjoy a long and happy life as a family after that."
Poppy sighed and couldn't help herself, she glared at him.
"Always using people like chess pieces. Shame on you, Albus. I don't think that was a very nice move. But I suppose we have to live with your fait-accompli."
She went out of her office and put a few drops of Sirius' urine into the test. Another five minutes wait. Sirius stroked over Remus' belly tenderly. He kissed his husband and held him close.
"We'll get through this, love. It's not like I expected to ever have a child, let alone two of them, and if I had known we'd be fully functional men AND women we could have done something to prevent this. But we'll live with it, don't you think?"
Remus nodded.
"Don't know if I can get myself to study especially well while suffering from morning sickness..."
"On the other hand, no transformations until the baby is born, love."
Remus managed a weak smile. A few months of rest before the monthly pain would be back. Then his face darkened.
"Madam Pomfrey, what do you think, will the baby be a werewolf, too?"
"I don't know, Remus. But I don't think so. So far I haven't heard that this can be inherited."
Sirius watched the yellow fluid. It turned blue.
"Well. Now we know. Luckily you will be in the second trimester when you will have to sit your NEWTS, that will make that bit a lot easier. With your robes it might even be that no one notices it before school will be over for you. I can imagine that this will not exactly be fun for you if word gets out."
Both young men shook their heads. Poppy checked them up and said:
"I'll call the local medimidwife from Hogsmeade over in the next days for a better inspection. She'll be able to give you an approximate date for the birth and examine you more thoroughly. I don't see anything amiss right now. I'll send word to you when she'll be here."
"Okay."
"You might want to catch the Headmaster for a few words..." she called after them as they left the hospital wing.
"We will!"
Dumbledore took their wrath with an even temper and finally explained why he provoked this for them. He could feel that they didn't hate their pregnancies, but they of course resented not to have been informed about this bit of development and made it their own choice when to have a child. They returned to the dormitory, calling James, Peter, Dari and Lily to come with them. Once they reached their room they sat down and told their friends:
"Anyone of you in the mood to become godparents?"
The four friends stared at them, then at each other.
"Why do you ask that?" James wanted to know.
"Because Dumbledore neglected to tell us about another consequence of our mating. That both of us would become fully functional hermaphrodites. Well, there isn't any vagina yet, but everything else is there and that means we are now both pregnant. Apparently the necessary equipment to give birth will be developed with the pregnancy. That was the reason why Remus didn't transform last night," Sirius explained.
While Peter and James looked at their male friends with open mouths, Dari and Lily started to hoot and congratulated the two on their pregnancies.
"Of course I want to be the godmother of one of your children, Sirius!" Dari cried.
"Me too! I'd love to. I take it you're not going to tell anyone else?"
"No. You can let Sabina know, Peter, but nobody else. We will of course tell my parents and siblings. Not yet though..." Remus said.
"Well, you could just scratch by... you may need a bit wider robes though," Lily said.
"Yes, but we'll see how it goes. We'll be almost five months gone by the time we have to sit NEWTS."
"Half the term. That's not too bad, really. You could have hit it worse. Like giving birth when you should sit NEWTS," Dari remarked.
"I don't even want to think of it. I'm not really mad to be pregnant, but I'm really mad at Dumbledore who WANTED to let this happen. He says that now we will both reach our full potential and our magical power will increase to the maximum."
"And just because he thinks you will have a go at Voldemort he risks to make you so mad that you possibly might rush to the other side?" James was speechless.
"Well, we wouldn't do that, whatever happens. These people are too despicable. But it does hurt quite a bit to be regarded as a secret weapon."
"We'll all be there with you - the whole way through!" Dari promised passionately.
Remus and Sirius regarded her fondly.
"Thanks, Dari! You're really a great friend!"
"Well, that's what friends are for! You guys deserve to have people supporting you."
"That's true. Dumbledore really singled you out with all that - and building you up as his most dangerous weapon. I think, Dari is right. I'll back you up fully, too!" Lily confirmed.
"Make that three," James said.
"Four," Peter added, "and probably five, once Sabina hears of it."
"Thanks, guys! We really appreciate your loyalty!" Remus said, tears blinking in his eyes.
The medimidwife showed up the next week, checked them both up and declared the babies were doing just fine and they would be born around the beginning of December. Dumbledore immediately informed the couple that they would receive rooms at Hogwarts where they could go on studying after school and prepare for the birth. They would be perfectly safe here.
"Don't know if my mum is going to share that opinion if any more such stuff happens," Remus said to Sirius.
They decided to write home and ask Richard and Venetia to come and see them at Hogwarts. Nothing like that had ever happened before so they turned up right the next weekend. In the Headmaster's presence the young men explained their condition to Richard and Venetia. At the end Richard started to grin and Venetia smiled.
"Wow. So much for not giving us any grandchildren, Remus! So now you're going to give birth almost at the same time...?"
"Mine will probably be first," Sirius said, "seems it's about a week older..."
"Well, that's really cute! But you had better not let it come so far that WE have to become the parents of these two little buttons, just because you're breeding two lethal human weapons, Albus!" Venetia turned to Dumbledore while she said this.
"I do hope and believe that they will enjoy a very nice family life together, Venetia."
"They better!"
The next few weeks of school were not quite easy for either of the pregnant young men, because they found themselves plagued with a bit of morning sickness and with raging hormones, but they managed and were even able to study. By the time exam week started they were as prepared as they could be. Their bellies had grown considerably, but only their dorm-mates, Lily, Sabina and Dari had seen them. Their breasts had started to develop slowly, too.
The exams started. There were tests every day, but for Remus and Sirius the practical tests were just a bit of an exercise. They both did some of their required spells wandless and with their wands, so they got some extra points.
And once the NEWTS were over it was only a matter of days until their time at Hogwarts came to an end. They returned home to the Lupins' place and discussed plans for their lives. Sirius was wealthy enough for them to afford their own house, but how long could they go with two children to be born soon without earning money on their own?
"You know that you are both welcome to stay here until you have jobs of your own?" Venetia reminded them.
"Dumbledore says the same of Hogwarts, but we didn't want that. Not before he has some real plans what we should do to help about Voldemort. Obviously that can't be before the babies are born. Your offer is much more welcome," Sirius said.
"Good. You can help around the house and do those studies you still want to do."
So they spent their summer in the garden and around the house, doing a lot of reading and regularly visited their friends or had them over at their place. Once Rupert and Rowland were both at Hogwarts it was very quiet and they enjoyed their time with Venetia and Richard. They went to see a medimidwife regularly and prepared for the birth. About a month before the babies were due both men noticed the change of their bodies which made themselves ready to give birth. Dumbledore assured them that their sexual organs would return to normal once the babies were born.
"Apart from the boobs, I guess," Sirius muttered.
"Well, you do want to feed your little one, don't you?" Remus asked tenderly.
"Yes, I guess so..."
Lily and James had both found jobs at the Ministry. Lily worked at the Department of Experimental Charms and James had been chosen as an Auror trainee. Peter had found work at a wizarding shop in Diagon Alley. Sabina still had a year at Hogwarts. Since the Lupins lived in Wales they weren't all too far away from the others who had all moved to London. Sirius was quite glad not to live in the city. He liked to go there but he had grown very accustomed to life in the country. He could always apparate to where he wanted to go anyway.
Sleeping together became a bit of a difficult thing. They now had to sleep back to back, so that their bellies wouldn't get in the way. One day Venetia snuck into their room to take a picture of them sleeping this way.
Finally the waiting found an end. Sirius' baby wanted out. It was the fifth of December when he realised that the slight pain he felt was the beginning of the birth. After a few hours and a fretting Remus who had to be soothed all the time the medimidwife was called in and together with Venetia she helped Sirius giving birth to a healthy baby girl who was named Vega Black-Lupin. Sirius was very exhausted, but so happy he cried when he held his little girl in his arms. She was just bundled up in a blanket and her face was still crunched up and red, but she was a lovely little girl with Remus' brown eyes and Sirius' black hair. He kissed her on the nose and looked up to his husband.
"She's beautiful, Remus, don't you think?" he whispered.
"Yes, Siri, she is."
"And she's hungry, Sirius, let her suckle..." Venetia said softly from the other side.
She helped her son-in-law who still felt quite awkward about it all. But that didn't faze the mother of seven who had all the routine needed to help him. After a few minutes Vega consumed her first meal and was then allowed to go on her papa's arms.
"Hey, love! Welcome! You're one lovely little girl and it's an amazing feeling to finally meet you. You'll meet your little sibling in a few days, sweetheart."
Remus held the baby tightly and then gave her back to Sirius who had been cleaned up in the meantime and was ready to go to sleep and rest up.
They had barely seven days time to get used to their daughter when it was Remus' time. It took long and he had a harder time of it than Sirius, but at the end of thirty hours Remus gave birth to a healthy boy. Polaris was quite a strong child who looked like Sirius. He was thoroughly checked, but there was no evidence that he had inherited Remus' werewolf.
"The next full moon will be in eight days, we can't but wait and see what happens. I don't think we'll need more than a solid ward around his cot, he's still so small," Richard said.
Remus thought it would be horrible if his little boy would have to go through what he had to endure every month. He knew that in only a week he'd go through that horrible transformation again.
The full moon night came up and Sirius went down into the cellar with Remus. The babies would be fed with the bottle that night. Richard and Venetia anxiously watched the warded crib in which their grandson lay. The moon came up, they could hear Remus down in the cellar, but the little boy did not transform. He just slept peacefully and never noticed when Richard took down the ward and left the room with the representative from the Werewolf Registry.
"Well, that at least takes a heavy load off my shoulders," Richard admitted, when he had closed the door.
"He doesn't show the least bit of a sign that he inherited the werewolf. I do suggest that you should watch him closely for a couple of full moons though."
"We will certainly do that. It's bad enough that Remus has to go through this every month. It would have been tragic if he'd passed it on and he would hate himself for it. He'll be more than relieved. Since Polaris' birth he's been very anxious."
"The way I have learned to know your son he must have been. He is a very special werewolf. I have never met anyone quite like him."
"He is a special person. He'll always have a special place in our hearts, Masterson."
"He's your son after all. Other parents have just chucked their children out when they were turned. I tend to deeply respect all those who stick to their children."
"Thank you. And thanks for your visit and witnessing. We're very happy about these two children."
"You're welcome. Good night, Lupin. Goodbye, Mrs Lupin!" he called to Venetia and left through the front door from where he disapparated.
The first thing Remus asked when he saw his mother in the morning was whether Polaris was okay.
"Yes, love, he hasn't transformed. He's perfectly fine. You can relax, sweetheart."
"I'm so glad..."
Remus was out of it for most of the day. They woke him to feed Polaris, but he did it only half awake. That was enough for the baby though and after the next night they were both getting better.
Sirius fared quite well with Vega. His little daughter was as strong as her brother and suckled eagerly every time he offered her the nipple. It still hurt him a bit, but after the two weeks since her birth things started to get regular and he felt better.
Once they had a certain rhythm Sirius and Remus exchanged the baby they nursed every other time. They needed to get close to both their children and with them being only a week apart they could swap without any problems.