A/N- Hey folks. Sorry it took me to damn long to update. I dont really have a good excuse for it really. But here's chapter 8. I hope you all enjoy it. it pulls a little together i think. or it just might confuse you more, who knows. well tell me what you think! Oh, and thank you to all who reviewed. i love you all. Ciao
Chapter 8- 5 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed
Before Harry could completely recuperate from his previous endeavors, he was pushing Lucius and himself through the floo; Snape and Draco were going to follow later on. He was as excited as humanly possible, or veela-y possible; if one must be politically correct. Harry, somehow, had made it through his shower in one piece. Lucius was sure that the poor boy was going to explode with excitement. So, his only option was to join him in the shower, and proceed with a full body examination. At first, Harry was reluctant claiming that he must get to Sirius and Remus as soon as possible, but with the right form of persuasion, gave into the soft hands roaming his body. The shower was a record breaking 2 hours. In fact, for the first time in Hogwarts history, they ran out of hot water. Be sure to check out the latest edition of "Hogwarts: a History Revised."
The newly bonded couple unceremoniously stumbled out of the floo, landing on old, rickety hard wood floors. Harry looked around and was surprised at what he saw. The place was empty. Cobwebs hung from anything they could grasp onto, and a thick layer of dust was on the floor. Lucius could sense Harry's confusion, so began leading him to the door.
"This, obviously, isn't their house. It's across the street. They had their floo closed off, which was very smart, might I add. You'll completely understand when we get there."
"Why do you keep on giving the excuse of 'you'll understand when you get there'?" Harry asked as he was led across the street.
"Because it is the only one I have. And, seeing as it's a good one, I saw no need in coming up with something else."
"Ah… well then, this better be good."
After a knock at the door, it flew open, revealing an excited looking Remus Lupin. His hair was still sandy blonde, hardly a grey strand in sight. The scars that Harry remembered to be across his face were gone, and his eyes were that much brighter. Remus was about to pull Harry into a hug, when a young boy push in between the two. He had sandy blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Harry's heart skipped a beat, when those bright blue eyes, Sirius' eyes, looked into his.
"Harry! Papa said that you wouldn't remember me because you got sent to the past, so I'll intro…introdu…." He looked up at Remus with a look that screamed 'help!'.
"Introduce."
"Introduce myself. I'm Conary. I'll be seven, and my birthday is in 4 weeks. Just in case you were still needing to get me a present. I sent you a list of the things I wanted, but I'll owl you another one, just I case you can't find the first one…"
"Alright, love. In you go. Help daddy with dinner, hmm?" Remus said ushering the gabbing boy and the veelas into the house.
"Okay!" And with that, he ran off.
"Remus! Why didn't you say something sooner? And you, Mr. You'll understand when you get there, why didn't you say something!?"
"Harry, love, I wanted to tell you, but I told Black that I wouldn't say anything."
"And I would have told you in person today but I have my hands full, as you see. Now, time for that hug, yes?" Remus pulled Harry into his famous 'mooney' hug, and whispered in his ear. "I owe you so much for leaving that note…"
"Don't. You owe me nothing. You deserve this."
"Harry!"
Harry turned to see Sirius walking, or should we say waddling to him. From the chest up, he looked to be his normal handsome self. But from the chest down, no sir.
"Sirius! I would have never thought you to be the type to get up the duff!" Harry proclaimed, carefully wrapping his arms around the man's waist.
"Yeah, blame Mooney. Can't seem to keep it in his pants," Sirius responded, rubbing circles on his swollen stomach. Harry glared at Lucius.
"I would have told you, I swear. I was sworn to secrecy."
"Oh, I'm sure. So Siri, how far along are you?"
"6 months. 6 long months…." he said with a sigh.
"Speaking of which, you aren't a young lad anymore, love, off your feet with you. Doctors orders. Lets go into the dining room, the kids should be home soon."
Remus spoke to soon. A thud was heard from the adjacent room, along with a bit of choking.
"I bloody hate taking the bloody, fucking floo."
"Language! Chase!"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oi! Harry, mate, welcome back. Heard you got shot back into the stone age with these two. Pity. Ron nearly blew a gasket when you didn't show for practice. Shite, Har look at you. The ladies are going to flip out, man."
"Ummm.. Yeah, thanks." Harry looked more confused then ever.
"Fuck…"
"Chase!"
"You don't remember do you? This is awkward. Right, I'm Chase, 5th year. Liam, he's in 3rd and Nora, 2nd, will be here shortly. Speaking of which, Dad, Liam pulled a stunt in transfig today. Thought I'd give you heads up on it. Not pretty, I tell you."
Chase was an attractive boy, slim build, at about the same height as Sirius. He had Remus' soft face, but Sirius' upturned nose. His eyes were basic brown, but his hair is what caught your attention. When he walked into the entrance hall, it was a deep red, now it was a sea foam green.
"No way, you're a metamorphmagus," Harry said, touching a stand of his hair.
"Yeah, runs in the fam I guess."
"Tonks," Harry said, nodding in recognition.
"Okay, into the dining room with all of us, and when we get there, you are going to tell me what happened," Remus ordered as they all made there way into the fairly large room.
"Mr. Malfoy, nice to see you again, and no dad, I'm going to let Liam tell you. And if he leaves anything out, I'll fill in the blanks."
Harry sat at the middle of the table, with Lucius at his side. Conary plopped down next to him, and began talking about his upcoming birthday; which was supposed to be the best birthday ever. Chase sat opposite Harry, and Sirius at the head.
"Every birthday is the best birthday ever, according to this one," Chase said, poking his fork at his younger brother.
"Nuh- uh. Just this one!."
"Oh, sure, okay. Whatever you say."
Remus walked in carrying a little boy with wavy black hair and hazel-blue eyes. He looked an awful lot like Harry when he was that age. Remus put him on the chair next to Chase, that had books pilled on it. The little boy still barely reached the table. Sirius tried to smooth out his hair, but his little hand pushed his away.
"Hawwy!" He looked to Sirius for help, who already had it coming. He slid a piece of napkin towards him. Harry turned it over to find a name.
"Ayden! How are you doing?"
"I'm good. I got a new teddy today!"
"Well, that's just wonderful."
"Can I show you after dinner?"
"Sure can." Harry reached out and smoothed out his hair, this time the boy let it happen.
"You've always had a way with him, Harry. And I blame you for him not sitting in his high chair anymore, wants to be like you, he does."
"Is that a bad thing?" Harry asked, feeling awful that he couldn't remember anything.
"Not at all. couldn't be happier really. And just so you know, I meant what I said back in the day, so to speak, you have a room here." Sirius smiled and gripped his shoulder.
"Thank you."
Remus took his seat at the other end of the table and was about to make conversation when a loud commotion came from the other end of the house.
"The kids are home."
"Joy."
"No I will not back down. She had no right to give me detention for something so trivial!"
"But you know she was right! Merlin, you can be so bloody dense sometimes."
A young man with what you would call 'Malfoy' blonde hair burst into the room and angrily took a seat next to Remus. The young girl, who had black shoulder length hair, took a seat next to Chase, leaving a chair between the two. The boy, who Harry assumed was Liam, looked like a Malfoy in almost every way except the eyes- they were Remus'. He even seemed to have the Malfoy temper. He was in a Ravenclaw uniform. Must be Remus' influence, Harry thought. The girl, Nora, Was in a Slytherin one. Never, in Harry's wildest dreams, would he think that Sirius could produce a Slytherin.
"Hi Harry."
"Hi, Nora."
"Oh, I was expecting to have to introduce myself. So, did you really find out about these two because they forgot to use silencing charms?"
"Nora!"
Harry made a disgusted face and nodded grimly. The younger girl covered her mouth and chuckled. She leaned over the table to whisper to Harry.
"Blackmail, ya know. Never know when it will come in handy. By the way, looking good Har." Harry blushed and nodded his thanks.
Snape and Draco sauntered in shortly after, they said their hello's and took there seats. Draco next to his father and Snape next to him. Remus snapped his fingers and the food appeared. It all looked splendid. Roasted ham, mashed potatoes, corn. Yummy. They loaded their plates in silence, only speaking to ask for things to be pasted. Sirius fixed Ayden his plate, and cut everything into small pieces.
"Sorry we're late Remus. We had a situation that I needed to be called to as a second opinion. In fact, I think that your son here, has the full story," Snape said dryly, as he cut a piece of ham.
"Yes, Liam, care to explain this 'incident' that I keep hearing about?"
"Keep hearing about? Chase, you incessant tattle tale, don't you know how to keep your mouth shut?"
"Indeed I do, but when it comes to you getting in trouble I'm willing to open my gab." Chase raises his eyebrows in triumph and shoveled a spoonful of potatoes into his mouth.
"Enough you two. Now what happened?"
"Today, we had to transfigure our ledgers into mice. And I would not do it. My score was in there, and what if something happened where I couldn't change it back, or it was to be ruined. I did not want to risk it."
"Now, you know that if something happened you could have brought it home, and your dad or I could have fixed it."
"And my poems are in there, and all of my thoughts. I just wasn't going to allow it. I noticed that all the mistakes she had taken, and put them in the back of the room. It I had botched it up, she would have taken it."
Liam was one of those boys that you would consider 'artistic'. In the seventies he would have been called a beatnik. Always in black, loved the arts, an earth child. His work was his life, and nothing got in the way. The odd thing was, he was no where near being a hippie. He was stuffy and self-centered. Everything was to be done his way, and was going to benefit him and his work, of course. Needless to say, the girls that Nora hung around with loved him. He was the epitome of what they wanted. Only a Ravenclaw. Why not a Slytherin you ask? He was insanely smart; smart in that 'to smart for your own good' sort of way. Sirius and Remus knew he was different when he asked to play the violin. When asked why he said:
"I want to play my own violin…" then proceeded to stare into the distance. He had been 'woe is me' ever since.
"And she gave you detention for this?" Remus knew there was more to the story. If he got anything from Sirius, it was the ability to leave out information that would, in the future, kill the fun; so to speak.
"Yes, it is," Liam said, a bit to quickly.
"Liam…" Sirius let Remus do the talking. The situation was far to amusing to stop it now.
"Yes, father?"
"What did you do?"
"I don't know what you mean."
"Chase…"
"I saw him storming through the hall, hissing about this and that, clutching is beloved ledger. The thing is, it was only ten minutes into class," he said, in between mouth fulls of ham.
"And what were you doing out of class?"
"That, my dear old dad, is my free period." Remus nodded and put his attention back on his third child.
"So, you stormed out of class? Anything else?"
"Not at all…"
"Severus…"
"I was summoned by Minerva. She seemed very upset, claiming that young Mr. Black refused to do the assignment, called her an incessant old fool, and stormed out of class."
"Liam! How could you?"
"Liam, I know that ledger means the world to you, and I, in no means, belittle your need to stand up for yourself, but that was going a bit over board." Sirius though it to be the best time to add in his two cents.
"But, my dearest giver of life…"
"Well, yes I am but… no! I will not let you flatter me to the point of leniency. That was wrong and after desert you will go an apologize."
"But she called my work pointless hobbies. She said that they weren't worth anything if it wasn't magical. Well I say, father, it's magical in another way!"
"Well, that was wrong of her and I'll speak to her about it, but Sirius is right, you will apologize tonight. It that clear?"
"Yes, father," Liam said with a sneer.
"Is he always that dramatic?" Harry whispered under his breath to Lucius.
"Yes. Just like Draco. Two peas in a pod, them," He whispered back.
"I do say, Liam. You had all the right to say those things. She did that to me once, my third year as well. She said it was a horrid display of art. Harry, you know the work. I sent you that note in potions."
"That?! Oh, Merlin." Harry shook his head. "She was right about it, you know," He finished under his breath. Lucius tried his best not to choke on his brandy.
"After desert, you two go back to school, Chase you stay here. I think it's about time you get involved in the family business," Sirius said, wiping Ayden's face with a napkin.
"Dad, please let me stay too!"
"No, Nora. You're still to young."
"No I'm not! It's because I'm a Slytherin isn't it?"
"Partly yes."
"I knew it, that's not fare!"
"Then answer me this. Can you throw off imperio or stop someone from reading your mind?"
"Um, no."
"Right, so lets say Goyle tries to get information from you, and casts the unforgivable, even if you don't want to give the information, you will. Do you understand now?"
"Yes," she said, with a pout.
"Love, when you're older and a bit more trained up, you can join. I swear it."
"Promise?"
"Absolutely. Now how about that cake, ay, Remi?"
"Appetite of a gorilla, this one," Chase said thumbing towards Sirius.
"Hey, now, I'm eating for two."
"Seems more like 3."
"Oh for the love of god, Chase, don't say things like that. If more of your half hearted predictions come true, you'll drive me to drink," Sirius said, staring at Lucius brandy with a shining hunger in his eyes.
"Half hearted predictions, what?" Harry was confused, again.
"Almost every off the cuff prediction this one here makes, has a knack for coming true. So I will have no more talking of me eating for 3."
Chase chuckled, taking a sip of his pumpkin juice. When Sirius wasn't looking, he held up three fingers and wiggled them at Harry; while mouthing the word three.
"Those meetings of yours are nothing but silliness. We all know that Harry will triumph. Oh, by the way Harry, glad to see you back in one piece. Worried about you, I was. I had to get a new ledge, filled the other one up so quickly with worrying things."
"Thanks, Liam."
"Well, once you have your cake, you can be off and back to school to finish whatever if it you
need to finish. But take your time, the order wont be here for another hour or so."
"What is it that we have to discus?" Harry asked, taking a peace of cake.
"Why, you and what our first move is going to be. Things are different now."
