I made Snape nicer in this chapter, dunno if I like it but let me know what you lot think!

Thanks to:

Lolly6- hehe you'll see when I'm gonna end it, but it won't go all the way to the first birthday

Charmedfanatic3000 – just wanted to say thanks, I think you've reviewed every chapter of this fic and I really appreciate it!

Dreamer Child

Lost angel92

Becks89 – lol lets talk about sadness and drama and your fic. At least I didn't kill Buffy! Still at least she will be back and hopefully you will update soon! Here's your update, hope you have a good holiday!

Stoic – your review made me realise a flaw in my storyline but I have fixed it and it will make sense in the next 2 chapters. Thanks.

Chrios

Wllw979 – lol sorry!

DeadRoseBlush - sorry I made you cry! Who's your sister?

RainyDay – your review really brightened up my day! Thank you

Kyra2

Anne-Marie

Chapter 33 – Support

"I know that this meeting has come as some of a surprise to all of you," Dumbledore intoned gravely, standing in the Drawing Room of Grimmauld Place, looking at the Order of the Phoenix who sat before him. "But I bring you together for a grave purpose."

Buffy looked around at the members of the Order and Sirius squeezed her and tightly. As soon as Dumbledore had received her letter he had called this meeting so he could get the Order behind Buffy and Sirius. But Buffy was afraid that many wouldn't be willing to help them, they had enough on their plates with Voldemort. Sirius and Remus had been hopeful.

Buffy looked over at Giles who wore a deeply sceptical look on his face. Faith's mirrored his, despite the fact that she was dating one of the Order members.

When they had discussed what they were going to do, both of them had been for leaving England and going back to Sunnydale to front their own battle in their own territory with Willow, Xander, Anya, Oz and Team Angel behind them. Both Faith and Giles wanted her to rely on their original team, not a bunch of strangers. But Buffy knew it was Sirius' decision too and he thought that the Order would back them so she had trusted him.

"A new threat has been brought to our attention and the cause is not quite as simple as fighting Voldemort," Dumbledore said, looking more serious than Buffy had ever seen him. "For many of you, this will be something that you choose not to involve yourself with, and that decision will be respected." He paced the front of the room as he spoke and the room was filled with tension.
 "Few of you know that two of our members are expecting a daughter in seven months," Dumbledore said, and Buffy stared straight ahead, aware that eyes had turned to her as a suspect. "Sirius and Buffy are expecting their daughter in early June. However the situation is not as joyous as it sounds." Faces that had previously been offering Buffy and Sirius congratulatory smiles snapped back to look at Dumbledore.

 "A prophecy has come to light, an ancient prophecy pertaining to this child," Dumbledore said grimly. "The prophecy has been written in the stars for thousands of years, prophesizing that a child would come, born of a slayer and a wizard who have defied death, and that the blood of that child would be potent, giving great power to whoever would drink of her blood. However the blood only holds this power for the first year of the child's life, after which the power is for her own." Dumbledore took a deep breathe and continued. "The prophecy comes into play only after the child is born, seven months from now. This child's coming has been forecast for thousands of years, many dark forces have been waiting for her to come and now the stars are aligned to tell them that she will arrive soon." Dumbledore stopped in front of the group and spread his hands.
 "This is not your fight," he said solemnly. "Voldemort will make a play for this child, his interest in the slayers will lead him to this prophecy, but I am not telling any of you that you need involve yourself in this battle. But I ask you, those of you that would protect this child, to stand alongside myself to protect this child."
He let the silence grow after his words, no one moved until Remus stood up.
 "I'll protect you," he said hoarsely, turning towards Buffy. "I'll do what I can to help you." Buffy smiled softly, she had known Remus was going to help them but his public declaration truly touched her.

Following Remus Buffy and Sirius watched as Moody, Tonks and Kingsley stood up to join Remus, followed shortly by Molly, Arthur, the twins and Bill. One by one the Order members stood until they all stood, turned towards Sirius and Buffy. Buffy could even see Snape through the crowd, standing next to Minerva McGonagall.
 "Thank you," Dumbledore said and they all sat down with a shuffling of chairs. "Once again I am proud to be in the company of such people. Our first object is to protect Buffy from now until she gives birth. I ask you all to keep your eyes and ears open to anything suspicious, any demons, or just people who look to be interested in this child." He looked over to Hagrid.
 "Hagrid, you must find Firenze," he said gravely. "He told you an incomplete prophecy, and it is imperative that we know whether the stars speak of her blood losing its power after a year."

The meeting broke up shortly after a few unrelated items. Buffy felt nervous as talk broke out among everyone, she felt oddly exposed by the fact that the all knew she was pregnant and they all knew the importance of her child.

 The first to approach her was Molly Weasley who did something she hadn't done before and hugged Buffy tightly, kissing her on the cheek.
 "Congratulations," she said, her kind eyes reminding Buffy of her own mother. "People won't say that a lot but I wanted to. If there's anything you need, any help you need, just ask. After seven children, I'm used to babies." Buffy smiled warmly and for a moment wished her mom was with her. She would've been happy to be a grandmother.
 "Thank you," she said, clasping Molly's hand. "To be honest the prophecy put all my baby fears out of my mind. I'll probably take you up on that offer; I haven't got a clue what I'm doing." Many other people came to talk to her, people she didn't know other than on sight, congratulating her sometimes, hugging her and kissing her cheek, but on the most part asking her where she'd be staying and what her plans were for the next seven months so they could make sure they kept an eye out for her. Buffy was touched at people's generosity.

She moved through the crowds and finally she stood in front of Snape who looked at her with a less sharp glance than usual.
 "I suppose I should say congratulations," he said looking down at her. Buffy smiled.

 "I suppose you should," Buffy said lightly. Snape's lips twisted into a sardonic smile.
 "Well, congratulations," he said. "I hope for all our sakes that we can take care of you." Buffy nodded distractedly and Snape frowned.
 "And congratulations on having a baby," he said grudgingly. "Even if it is Black's." Buffy smiled again and surprising even herself, stood on tiptoe to kiss Snape on the cheek. Snape looked astonished and Buffy was tempted to make a run for it, wondering what had possessed her.
 "You're too good for Black," Snape said suddenly. Buffy chuckled.
 "I've always thought the exact opposite," she replied, eyes scanning the room to find Sirius. She met his eyes and then blew him a kiss. Snape rolled his eyes.
 "Maybe not," he said and Buffy smiled.
 "Thank you," Buffy said finally. "You're not the jerk I thought you were." She left him and made her way through the crowd to find Sirius.

 
 "Are my eyes deceiving me, or did you just kiss Snape on the cheek?" Sirius said incredulously. Buffy snuggled into his embrace.

 "Nope your eyes are good," she said tiredly. She tipped her head back to look at him.
 "Don't even think about kissing me," he warned. "You have Snape lips." Buffy grinned wickedly and planted a kiss on Sirius' mouth.
 "I'm just too damn irresistible to not kiss," Buffy said firmly. "Besides, he's not that bad. Okay, he's a minor jerk but deep down, there's a decent guy there." Sirius looked sceptical but shrugged.
 "I'll have to take your word for it," he said doubtfully. "I just don't like the guy, I don't trust him."

Most of the Order left but as usual The Weasleys, Kingsley, Moody and Tonks stayed for dinner. They passed a warm bright evening, in which Buffy could forget about the prophecy for a short while, and concentrate on the fact that she was in England with the man she loved, pregnant with a little girl and surrounded by old friends and new.
 "Looks like you were right," Giles said to her quietly, mid-meal. "They supported you." Buffy shrugged and looked down.
 "I wasn't sure they would," she confessed. "I stayed because Sirius wanted to. If it had been my decision I probably would've gone to Sunnydale, been around the people I really trust. But they've backed us and they're all good fighters." Giles nodded pensively.
 "I'm going to Floo to Sunnydale for a short time soon," he informed her. "I need Willow and the guys there to research. And I need them to get Team Angel onto it as well. We need to know what's coming and when." Buffy nodded seriously.
 "I feel like I'm on a really tall pile of bricks," she said suddenly. "And it's all shaking and it might fall. But it might not. It's been like that before I guess, there's just never been so much at stake."
 

Buffy and Sirius curled up together on the living room sofa when all their guests had left. Giles had decided to Floo that evening, the time difference making it easy and Faith was upstairs with Kingsley.

 "I know what it was like for James and Lily now," Sirius murmured pensively. "They knew about the prophecy when Harry was born, and it was so hard for them. James couldn't believe that his son was the child destined to bring down Voldemort." Buffy looked up at him.
 "What were they like?" she asked softly and Sirius looked at her in surprise. Buffy had never directly asked about James or Lily before; she had never wanted to broach the subject so bluntly. But she wanted to know now, she wanted to know about a part of Sirius he hadn't been able to touch before. 
Sirius smiled wistfully.
 "James was the best friend I could've asked for," he said contemplatively. "When I went to Hogwarts I took with me a name that was respected among dark wizards and despised among the good. But James didn't judge me by my name, we became friends despite that. He's probably the reason I didn't become a Death Eater, there was a lot of pressure on me, Bellatrix, Narcissa and her boyfriend Lucius, my own brother. All Slytherins, all Death Eaters. And they all disowned me when I became a Gryffindor; I ruined the family line, nineteen generations of Slytherins." He laughed bitterly." Yep I was a real disappointment. But I had friends, James and Remus and Peter." He looked at Buffy and stroked her hair gently.
 "You really want to know what James is like, then just look at Harry," he said pensively. "He's the image of James, could be his double expect for his eyes, Lily's eyes. And the way he is, I watch him sometimes and think that he could be James. He's so much like him." The door opened and they looked up to see Remus walk in.
 "Oh sorry" he said, startled. "I didn't think there was anyone in here." Buffy waved her hand frantically, beckoning for him to sit down.
 "Stay," she said quickly. Remus smiled and sat down on an armchair.
 "Buffy just asked what Lily and James were like," Sirius said to Remus. "I was saying how much Harry is like James." Remus nodded seriously.

 "It's almost uncanny," he admitted. "When I first met him at Hogwarts, it was so hard. He didn't know who I was and for me it was like teaching James. He's got James' determination, James' resourcefulness and James' trouble making ability." Sirius grinned.
 "He's better than us," he said. "We were mad at Hogwarts, completely barking. Harry's more mature than us when we were sixteen. When he saw what we were like at fifteen, he was disgusted. Rightly so, I guess."

 "What were you like?" Buffy asked curiously and Remus and Sirius exchanged glances.
 "Cocky," Sirius said finally. "To the point of arrogance. The bit of our past that Harry saw was not one of our finest moments. Me and James picking on Snape, Remus sitting by idly. We were young and foolish but Harry never knew James, he never knew what he was really like. He hated Snape but he saved his life. Like Harry saved Wormtail's."
"James would've worshipped Harry," Remus said wistfully. "He would've been so proud to see what his son became, what he faced." He rubbed his temples.
 "I remember the night they died," Sirius said quietly. "I went to Godrics Hollow, I knew something was up. And the house was destroyed, and so I climbed through the wreckage and their bodies were there, dead, cold but like they'd just gone to sleep. And Hagrid was holding Harry. And for a split second I wished that Harry had died with them so he wouldn't have to live without them. He has had it so rough with them gone, I've tried to fill his shoes but I'm not the father that he would've been." Buffy rested her head against his shoulder.
 What about Lily?" she asked quietly. "What was she like?" Both Remus and Sirius smiled.
 "The kindest person you could ever meet," Remus said sadly. "Lily was always on the right side, always mature, always clever. It was her that got us out of our terrible arrogant phase."
 "She got James out of it," Sirius corrected. "The rest of us just grew up." Remus nodded thoughtfully. There was terrible sadness in the room, even though they could talk about Lily and James fondly, remembering them just reminded them of the fact that they would never see them again. Death was hard, harder on those left behind to mourn their passing. Buffy took Sirius' hand and squeezed it lightly. He glanced down at her with sad eyes.
 "I'm sorry," she murmured. "I didn't want to upset you." 
 "It's okay," he said quietly. "I want to remember. It was war and we knew people would die but deep down I never saw the reality of that. I thought Lily and James would always be here." They sat in silence for a moment, Buffy feeling guilty still for bringing up something that made them so depressed.
 "What was Sirius like at school?" she asked Remus quickly, wanting to lighten the mood. Remus brightened and exchanged an amused look with Sirius.

"I think the American word for it is…a player?" he said amusedly. "Sirius always had lots of girlfriends, and every one of them lasted about a week." Sirius grimaced.
 "I think that's enough Moony," he said. Buffy sat up and looked at Remus.
 "It's totally not," she exclaimed. "I wanna hear about Sirius and his girlfriends." Sirius sighed loudly and Remus smirked.
 "He was a troublemaker too," he commented. "The worst of us, worse even than James. The pranks you used to pull."
 "I don't recall you stopping me," Sirius protested. "In fact I remember you coming up with the ideas for a lot of them."
 "I'm sure I didn't, I was a prefect," Remus said smoothly and Buffy grinned. "Sirius and James could've given the Weasleys a run for their money."

 "They were good times," Sirius said reverently. "Stuff was simple back then. Right and wrong, good and evil, it was all right there in front of you. Now it's so hard to know what to do. But I suppose we can make it simple: I protect Buffy, I protect my daughter, I protect Harry and I protect my friends. That's all that matters anymore."