3. Settling in

In the days that followed Sirius had numerous occasions to see that Remus' children had their own sense of mischief not unlike their father's. He played a lot with them and they got a lot closer to him and started to see him as an uncle. Remus was very pleased to see this development.

When Anna and Remus went to the lawyer to finalize their separation he wasn't nervous. They had talked it all through quietly and without a fight. Remus thought it was because Anna was not one to really fight. She could snap sometimes and she had a sharp tongue sometimes, but she was incapable of fighting and holding grudges. Their decision to go through it with only one lawyer made it a lot easier for them.

"I hardly see the necessity for you two people to divorce, you seem to agree on everything," he said, shaking hands with both of them.

"It's not really a necessity, more like the best thing we can do. In the interest of our own lives as well as that of our children," said Anna.

"But as you told me you are expecting one more," the lawyer remarked.

"Yes, that's correct, and it will be my husband, or soon to be ex-husband who will take custody for all three of them. If that makes it sound like I was a bad mother then so be it, it's just that he's the much more dedicated parent."

"I see. If that's the case then we should lay down the custody for all three children, including the unborn one in favour of Mr Lupin. That's important, because if you should change your mind, you'll need that part of the contract negotiated again, Mrs Lupin."

"Good."

"I see, that you are currently unemployed, Mr Lupin. This means you will be requesting a part of your wife's income?"

"Only for the children. I'm not employed right now, but I'm doing some paid work. And I have some investments which are paying off."

"Very well. Mrs Lupin stated a sum between 300 and 400 Galleons a month. That would be quite gracious actually."

"I don't need that much for the children. I'll be happy with whatever. I know that Anna may not be the most dedicated parent, but she does love her children and she won't let them down."

"So make that 300 and that's it," Anna told the lawyer who promptly noted down the sum.

There wasn't even a discussion regarding the house, since that belonged to Remus. They didn't need to fight over furniture or valuables, as Remus had told Anna to take what she wanted if she wanted anything. The contract was put together in an hour and then needed to be copied three times and signed. Anna kept her married name. She also kept her ring, but changed it to the other hand. They went home together and sat down in the living room with Sirius to tell him how things had been going.

"And now I'm definitely moving out of the bedroom and into the guestroom, Remus, and you will have to bring your stuff up to Remus' room, Sirius… Like right now..."

Sirius got up and brought all of his clothes and what little he had in the room out. He put everything down on a fairly neat pile in the living room and said:

"Up to you to do your part, Anna."

"Give me a few minutes."

Anna went up and emptied her part of the wardrobe and dresser, took her personal belongings out of the bedroom and brought everything down. Then she vanished in her new room and closed the door. Remus had a heavy heart. They parted peacefully, but he still mourned the loss of the relationship. Sirius held back, just put his stuff up and left it on the bed until he knew where to store it. He returned to the living room. Remus had poured himself a whisky and asked:

"Do you want one, too?"

"No thanks. Shall I cook dinner?"

"Would you do that?"

"Yes… Ronja, do you want to help me?"

"Yes, Sirius!"

"Good, come with me. Rashid, you can bring your toy dragon into the kitchen, too, if you want..."

But Rashid felt that something was odd with his Dad and stayed close to Remus. Remus drank about half of his whisky, then Rashid tried to climb on his lap. Remus lifted his son up and felt the child cuddling close. He rubbed Rashid's back.

"What wrong, Daddy?"

"Nothing much, Rashid, I'm a bit sad."

"Why are you sad, Daddy?"

"Because your Mum is still your Mum, but not my wife anymore. After these years it feels very strange."

"But you with Padfoot now..." Rashid remarked.

"Yes, my clever son, I am. I'm still a little sad, you know. Your Mum means a lot to me. I'm glad we are able to go our separate ways without fighting."

Sirius put pea soup on the stove and quietly returned to the living room to check on Remus. He quickly went and got the camera and took a picture of Remus and his son. Rashid sat on Remus' lap and lay on his father, holding him tightly. Remus still quietly rubbed his son's back, which caused Rashid to almost purr.

"You're feeling well, aren't you, my little one?" Remus asked.

Keeping his child this way calmed himself down a lot, too, and when Sirius called them all to the table, he stood up, lifted Rashid high in the air and brought a little shriek of pleasure forth from the boy. Remus caught him and brought him to the table, where he placed him in his high chair.

"Ronja, will you go and call your Mum, please?" Remus asked.

"Yes, Daddy."

Ronja went, but came back a moment later and said:

"Mum's not there, Daddy..."

"Well, then she must have gone out. It's alright, Ronja, just sit down. Here, let me fill your plate… Take some bread, sweetie."

While they were eating, an owl turned up at their window. Sirius looked around and noticed it was Hedwig.

"Let's hope this isn't bad news..." he muttered, while he let her inside.

"This is a beautiful owl!" Ronja remarked.

"That's Hedwig, Ronja," Remus explained.

"Do you know her?"

Ronja moved closer to Sirius and caressed Hedwig, who turned her head around and hooted quietly. She lightly nipped Ronja's finger.

"She likes you, Ronja. Yes, we know her, she belongs to Harry Potter, who's my godson. He just wants to know how I'm doing, Remus, and whether he can use Hedwig, to send letters to me or whether he should redirect everything to the Burrow, so Ron could send the letters with Pigwidgeon."

"I'd say he can use Hedwig, but he might better address the letters to me."

"Yes, that's a good idea. Since I expect to be together with you for most of the time it won't cause delays, I guess."

"We need to decide who would look after the children when we get more involved with the Order. Ronja's school is a day school..."

"Where is she going? To a Muggle school?"

"No, she's going to the Hogsmeade primary school, she's going through the Floo."

"Oh. - Do you like going to school, Ronja?"

"Yes, I do, but I can't wait until I can go to Hogwarts."

"That will still take a while, I'm afraid," Remus said.

"I know, Daddy. I'm still looking forward to it. To get my own real wand..." she said dreamily.

"You'll have to be patient about that, love, you're only six yet..." Remus pointed out.

"It's going to be hard. I asked Professor Dumbledore what house I'd probably get into and he said he'd try to get it out of the Sorting Hat..." Ronja said and giggled.

"He's had you on there, sweetie, you need to put the Sorting Hat on your head, so it can look what's inside, he won't get much useful information like this," Remus said.

"I thought so, but he's so kind, isn't he?"

"Yes, Ronja, that he is! He's the kindest man you can imagine. With good people. I wouldn't want to be his enemy though."

"Is that dangerous?" Ronja asked.

"Very dangerous!" Remus and Sirius said at the same time.

Ronja laughed.

"Then I wouldn't want to be his enemy either."

"I don't think you ever will, love, you're Gryffindor material, you know..." Sirius said.

After dinner the children were allowed to play for a little while still and Remus showed Sirius where he could store his clothes. Remus changed the sheets and covers on the bed. Then they went to put the children to bed. Once they were both sleeping, Remus looked at Sirius and asked, nodding his head to the bedroom:

"How about it?"

Sirius cottoned on and steered right to the bedroom door. He pulled Remus along and they closed the door, before frantically tearing each other's clothes away. Half a minute later they were in the bed, naked. Remus tenderly stroked over Sirius' face and kissed him, again and again. Sirius returned those heated kisses. They feasted on each other's mouths. Sirius got hold of Remus' lower lip with his teeth, then trailed down over his chin and jaw to the neck. He remained there for a long while, rolled on top of Remus and kissed, licked and bit the sensitive flesh of Remus' neck and shoulder. He sucked on his lover's earlobes, went back to the mouth and kissed again. Their teeth clanked together in their attempt to catch as much of the other's mouth as they possibly could. Remus gazed up and looked deep into those beautiful grey-blue eyes. Sirius held them open because he didn't want to miss one opportunity to see his beautiful lover.

"Gods, but you're beautiful," he whispered.

Sirius started to caress Remus with his hands now. He sat up and straddled Remus, then pulled his fingers softly over the skin. Remus moaned. He squirmed under Sirius and begged:

"Please, Siri…"

"Please what, Moony?" Sirius teased.

"Don't just tease!"

Sirius moved a bit lower and their erections met. It was still like a miracle for Sirius to feel this at all. For so many years he had never been able to get any reaction from his penis, now it was almost hard to take. He really loved it. As a young adult and young man he had never had any kind of problems with his sexual organs, but Azkaban, as in so many other ways, had quickly destroyed everything in that regard. He had been afraid it was forever. But now he was here, back in Remus' arms, where he belonged and his cock reacted just as it should. Sirius was giddy with excitement as he rubbed it on Remus' erection. He followed with his hand, while he bent down to suck on one of Remus' nipples. More moans, Remus pulled him close, so close it almost took Sirius' breath. For a good long time Sirius just licked and sucked those rosy pearls, which were now dark red from all the blood rushing through them and from Sirius' teeth marks. But Remus didn't mind those. The feelings that coursed through his body made him light headed. He couldn't stop moaning, thrusting his hips up to meet Sirius.

"Oh, this feels nice…" he murmured.

Sirius gripped the straining cock. He knew what he had to expect. It was a beautiful organ and he loved to feel it in his hand like this. Very hard, hot and heavy. He started to stroke it, up and down and up again, pressing a little harder over the top, smearing the first drops of clear liquid over the rest of the flesh. He could feel some of the blood vessels and he could almost feel the blood pulsating through it. Remus' moans were now interspersed with cries of pleasure, he tried to hold back his orgasm, but a few minutes into Sirius' treatment he came and Sirius happily spread the seed spurting out on Remus' belly. He lowered his nose onto the belly, licked and kissed from the navel down to the bush of light brown hair, which covered a good part of Remus' lower belly. Sirius hummed in pleasure while he rubbed his nose in it. Remus still breathed hard from his climax. He dug his hands into Sirius' black tresses and whispered:

"Oh Siri, sorry, that came so fast…"

"Don't worry, if you're still the same as I remember I'll get you back there again very quickly!"

"I think that hasn't changed much, love!" Remus murmured and pushed Sirius' head close to his cock again.

Sirius didn't need a special invitation. He sucked the slack shaft into his mouth and started his magic. He suckled on the tip, swirled his tongue over all the most sensitive areas and took the cock into his mouth as deep as he could. He knew he'd have to find his way back to be able to swallow it completely, but he was sure that the pleasure he could give Remus even that way was quite delightful.

Remus responded almost immediately. He had hissed at the touch for a moment, as it was so short after his orgasm, but Sirius carefully brought him back. He also brought a new series of cries forth. Remus had always been a noisy lover, which Sirius loved. He looked up and Remus begged:

"Fuck me, please, Siri, do it now! I want to feel that cock of yours where it belongs!"

"I'm getting there, sweetheart!"

Sirius started to prepare Remus. There was enough moisture on his hands to gently insert his fingers inside the small entrance. Remus sighed and relaxed, pushed against the finger, which was soon joined by a second and then even a third finger, stretching the muscles and softening them.

"Would you mind turning on your side, sweetheart?" he asked gently.

Remus shifted his position and flipped onto his side, Sirius lay down behind him. Remus took the tube with the lubricant from his night stand. He handed it back to Sirius who took it, grinning. He asked:

"That looks used…"

Remus was a bit embarrassed. He turned his head and looked at Sirius, then admitted:

"Anna quite liked it this way…"

"Oh… wow…"

"Well, she asked for it… she knew I was with you, so she could guess how we have sex…" Remus grinned now.

Sirius squeezed some lubricant out of the tube and shoved it under a pillow. Then he slicked his cock and pressed it against Remus' entrance. Slowly he pushed inside. It was quite hard and Remus, gasping, said:

"Fourteen years without is just too darn long! Push, love! Come inside!"

Sirius pushed as far as he could. Remus pressed back and met him. Sirius slowly started to move and they tried to find their rhythm again. It took a while and for a moment it was a bit awkward, but they were able to chuckle about it. Sirius pulled Remus close and when Remus looked up to him, Sirius kissed him. He could feel Remus smile into the kiss and let go.

"It's so unbelievably good, Moony, I love you so much!"

"I love you, too, Siri! Come on, push a little harder!"

Sirius complied and after a few more thrusts he moved easily and Remus met his thrusts eagerly. Sirius took hold of Remus' cock again. Remus put his hand on Sirius' and together they stroked it, until Remus felt his climax coming. He cried out and spilled his seed into Sirius' hand. Sirius followed him over the edge. He had nuzzled Remus' neck and his cry was muffled in Remus' hair. Sirius held Remus more tightly and Remus finally turned around in Sirius' arms. Their lips met for another searing kiss. It took a long time for their pulses to slow down again. Remus pulled Sirius close and they just lay there, legs and arms tangled and looked at each other. Remus lazily kissed Sirius.

"Love you, Paddy," he whispered.

"I love you, too, Moony! It's so good to hear this again from you." Sirius sighed.

"Every day... you're going to hear it often to make up for all the years I wasn't saying or even thinking it."

They both went to sleep, not bothering with nightclothes, not even bothering to pull up the duvet, as the night was warm. Sirius woke up first and smiled. He cuddled up to Remus and put his head down again. He closed his eyes and only noticed that Remus leaned in to his touch in his sleep. Then, with a start, Remus woke up, too. He kissed Sirius.

"Good morning, love!"

"Morning, Moony."

They caressed each other again. Remus noticed, that his cock was rock hard again, and then Sirius' hands brushed over it and felt it too. He looked at Remus, but Remus warned him:

"We need to be awfully quick, love..." he grinned.

"Why?"

"Two reasons: one is six and one is three... Ronja is the one to get up early, Rashid is more ready to sleep in. He's much more relaxed in general."

"Oh! The downside in having children, eh?"

"Small one, to be honest. I much prefer having them. You'll get used to them."

"I'm sure I will. But you know what? They make me miss Harry even more."

"I know, me, too. After Ronja was born, Anna and I really had to fight for her! The Ministry idiots thought I was too dangerous for my own daughter. Of course they were also afraid, that a werewolf's child would also be one."

"And neither of them are?"

"Negative. Which is why I'm not afraid for the third one, either. Anyway, after about two years of constantly watching us they finally did decide that I'm responsible enough to have my own child. It took me more self discipline than ever before, believe me, but I had to remain a bit docile to convince them. Though I probably never really did, but maybe they stopped caring at one point."

"Bastards! Why are there so many of them in the Ministry? Why are people like Arthur and Amos so rare?"

"There are actually a lot of good people there, but Fudge keeps them from moving up in the hierarchy. He's the biggest problem in the British wizarding world today."

While they were talking they kept caressing each other tenderly and kissed now and then. Then, all of a sudden, the door banged open and Ronja hopped on the bed, right on the two men.

"Good morning!" she chirped cheerfully.

"See what I mean, Sirius?" Remus said, grinning again, "She's about as subtle as a hippogriff."

He captured the girl and tickled her.

"Good morning, my love! Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, Daddy, I did. And you?"

"Very well, thank you. Do you think you can stand staying with Siri today? I have to go out and talk to some people."

"Yes, I could! Padfoot is fun! And he'll not let anything happen to us."

"You're right about that one, sweetie!" said Sirius, who had surreptitiously pulled up the duvet.

Remus had noticed and grinned.

"So prudish, Sirius? Or just squeamish, because you're not the gorgeous looking Sirius Black of your post-Hogwarts days?"

"Moony, I was just trying to keep this out of your daughter's eyes..."

Ronja giggled madly and now tried to tickle her father. Sirius watched in amusement, as he knew just how ticklish Remus was. Ronja seemed to know very well, too. Remus was giggling as well under her treatment and said:

"Well, then know that she's seen me and - oh, I give up, Ronja! Stop it! Eeeeek! Ronja! Stop tickling me right now- Anna loads of times in the nude, so don't worry, she won't faint when she sees you. - That's it, now I'm going to show you how tickling really works!"

"Oh no, not Rictusempra, please!" she cried and giggled even more.

Remus grabbed her and held her tightly, then he started to really tickle her. She cried from laughing, made one big racket and finally called Rashid on the scene who happily started participating in the beginning pillow fight. Sirius grinned and tried to stay out of it, but he transfigured several small objects into more pillows for them to throw. After about half an hour all three of them started to finally collapse on the bed. Remus tucked both children under the duvet and told Sirius to return the pillows to their original state.

"Well, we'd better all get up. Who's first in the bath?" Remus asked, still breathing hard.

"I'll go," said Sirius, got up and vanished to the bathroom. Remus pulled up the duvet for a moment and closed his eyes. Ronja scooted close to him and he put his arm around her.

"Hey," he said.

"Daddy, I love you," she declared.

"I love you, too, my darling. But you know that, don't you?"

He kissed her on her forehead and she nodded.

"I'm happy."

"That's good."

When Sirius returned from the bath, Remus got up, picked up Rashid and said:

"You're coming to the shower with me, young man! You're quite in need of one, you know?"

He tickled the boy while he went out with him and Rashid giggled again. Sirius got dressed while Ronja lolled around in the bed. She watched him out of small eyes and then all of a sudden declared:

"You know, you're going to be our Mum now if you're with Daddy."

Sirius had to laugh. He turned to her, pulling a thin t-shirt over his head and said:

"I don't know how much I'll be worth as a Mum, little one, sorry..."

"Well, I guess you can't really be, you have a penis."

Another giggle from Sirius.

"What's so funny?"

"You're trying to categorise me, Ronja."

"What's that?"

"Well, you're trying to put me into a model of some sort. - I'm just the same as your Dad, a man. So yes, I do have a penis, and no, I can't be your Mum, but we can still be good friends, can't we?"

"Oh yes. Will you and Daddy get married now?"

"We can't. In any case not as long as I'm still hiding from the Ministry."

"Do you think you'll hide from them all your life?" Ronja scooted closer to where Sirius sat on the edge of the bed and studied him.

"I sincerely hope not, Ronja. It's all in the hand of one person though. If we catch that person, the truth will come out. I can tell the truth, but without Peter I cannot prove it, that's why I'm still hiding. They wouldn't believe me, you know. They don't even believe the four people who saw him."

Ronja hugged him and said:

"I want you to be free, Siri, I want you to be happy!"

Sirius held her close and told her:

"You know what? Right now I'm very happy. That's because I'm with your Daddy again and because you and Rashid are such wonderful children."

"That's good! So what will we do today?"

"How about you throw a stick for Padfoot to catch and bring back? Padfoot loves to do that, you know."

"Really? Oh, this will be fun!"

They ate their breakfast and then Remus asked the children:

"Will you go out to the garden already? Sirius will follow you in a moment, I still need to talk to him for a moment, and it's not for your ears, okay?"

"Okay. Come, Rashid!"

Once the children were out of earshot, Remus said:

"Well, I'm going to get the gifts for Ronja and that might be an opportunity for you to tell me what you want to give to Harry."

"And to Ronja. - What do you think she'd like from me?"

"I don't know. Maybe a puppy? I was thinking of getting a dog."

"That's a wonderful idea and if you do give her a dog then it really should come from me! And I want to give Harry a book about Animagi. Not necessarily about how to become one, but a more general one. I'm sure you'll find something."

"Good, I'll look for something like that. - Then I plan to see Albus quickly, because I want to ask him, if we can take Harry here at least over his birthday. I can imagine how miserable he is at the Dursley's. If Albus gives his okay, I'll go and get him right away. We'll celebrate Ronja's birthday tomorrow, and if Harry's there we'll organise a party for him and she'll have an extra cake then."

"Oh, Remus, that's so sweet of you! I know, Albus has explicitly asked that Harry stay at the Dursley's, but who knows? If it's you who asks he might agree."

"I'll make sure, that Minerva is there when I ask him, she'll support me."

"You are brilliant!"

Remus left. He got the birthday gifts for Ronja and Harry and then brought everything home to stow it all away. He saw the children playing with Padfoot in the garden and smiled. He had found a puppy, but of course he'd only get that during one of the next days, because he didn't want to hide it. They didn't even notice he was there.