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Chapter Three
Remus had waited until the next morning to inform his lover of everything that the Healer had told him. Sirius, as Remus had predicted, had been incredibly furious when he'd been told about the examination and the hearing. Even though they'd always thought that children would be out of the question for them, Sirius was just as happy about the idea of having babies as Remus was. He could not believe that the Ministry was willing to force his lover to have an abortion, simply because he was a werewolf.
As soon as Remus had given him this bit of news, Sirius had set off for the Ministry at once, in a towering rage over the treatment his lover was being forced to endure. Remus, not wanting to draw any more attention to himself than was absolutely necessary, had chosen to stay at home. He had, however, asked James to go with Sirius so that someone would be there to keep him in line. That was why, the morning after Remus and Lily had found out that they were both pregnant, James and Sirius could be found, not at home celebrating their impending fatherhood, but storming through the lobby of the Ministry of Magic. Well, Sirius was storming; James was running several yards behind him, trying to keep up.
James had no idea what Sirius planned to accomlish by visiting the Ministry. All he knew was that his best friend was now on a veritable rampage, searching for the Head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, most likely so that he could give the man a piece of his mind, for all the good it would do. Sirius knew as well as James did that Ignatious Thunderburg, a rather fat short-tempered man, was about as reasonable as Severus Snape's hair was clean. Everyone at the Ministry knew the man by reputation, if not through any personal dealings with him, and no one liked him. Mr. Thunderburg was the one responsible for most of the recent anti-werewolf legislation, and it was not at all likely that he would raise a finger to help Remus. The simple fact was that the man absolutely hated (and feared) anyone who wasn't techinically fully human. Unfortunately, Mr. Thunderburg was also the only one with the authority to help Remus and Sirius' case at the moment, as the Committee that would be hearing it had not been chosen from the department members yet.
As it turned out, James had been right to fear that their visit wouldn't accomplish anything. In fact, it had more than likely hurt their case, as Sirius was now no longer allowed to accompany Remus during his examination. This angered Sirius to know end - he knew Remus hated going to the Ministry at all, and he never liked to go alone. It was almost as if he was afraid that he might be arrested just for being there. One week later, Sirius was still fuming over what he'd been told by Thunderburg. Sometimes, he found it hard to believe that he and James worked for the same government as that man.
As Sirius pulled on his workclothes, he called into the kitchen, "You sure you'll be alright meeting those people by youself, Remus? I know how much you hate going there."
"I'll be fine, Sirius," Remus called back as he finished cooking their breakfast. "It's not as though I've never gone to the Ministry by myself, love."
"I know that," Sirius said, as he walked into the small kitchen. He wrapped his arms around Remus' waist and placed a light kiss on his lips. Grabbing a piece of bacon, Sirius said, "But I also know prejudicedthose gits in the Magical Creatures Department can be. I just don't like the thought of them hurting you. Mmm, this is good love." Tossing another piece of bacon into his mouth before Remus could swat his arm away, Sirius kissed him once more on the cheek before going to the cupboard and getting out two plates.
"Sirius, I know you're concerned, but I hardly think anyone's going to torture me," Remus said as he took two pieces of toast out of the toaster.
"Still, just be careful, will you? And hey," Sirius said, as they sat down at their small table and served each other breakfast, "if you get finished by two, why don't you come up to my department and we can go somewhere for lunch? Come up there anyway, even if you aren't done by then, actually. I'll probably be bored from all the paper work Moody's going to have me doing."
Remus chuckled lightly. "Alright. As long as I won't be distracting you from your work," he said as he buttered his toast.
"Are you kidding?" Sirius scoffed. "Of course you'll be distracting me from my work. But it'll be a very welcome distraction, believe me," he said, leaning across the table for another kiss. "Mmm," he said as their lips met. "You're the best kind of distraction there is."
A few hours later, Remus was sitting in a waiting room just outside of Ignatious Thunderburg's officewith two other men, one of whom was clearly a magical creature like himself, though Remus couldn't tell exactly what sort. He was supposed to meet with the Department Head, in order to answer a few questions the Ministry had, before seeing thepersom appointed to give him his physical exam. To say that Remus was nervous would be an understatement. Despite what he'd told Sirius earlier, he was also a bit concerned about this meeting. He wished Sirius had been allowed to come with him, but it was pointless to dwell on that. He'd assured Sirius that ifby any chance, somethingdid go wrong,he would 'call'him, using the mindlink that all werewolves shared with their mates.
Suddenly, the door to Remus' right opened, and a young blonde woman in light purple robes stepped out. She might have been pretty, if she wasn't wearing quite as much make-up- it made her look like a two-bit hooker. "Mr. Lupin?" She called in a sickly sweet sort of voice. He nodded slightly at her, and stood up. As he approached her, she said, "Mr. Thunderburg will see you now," before stepping back and letting him enter. "Don't worry, Mr. Lupin,"the womansaid, with what would have been an encouraging smile from anyone else, but on her, it simply gave the impression that she was constipated. "Mr. Thunderburg knows how to deal with your sort of case."
The blonde woman showed him through her own small office and right to a large, chestnut door that clearly led to Mr. Thunderburg's office. She knocked lightly on the door before opening it. "Sir?" She called into the room. "Mr. Lupin is here for his appointment."
"Yes, thank you, Clara," came a gruff voice from within the room. "Show the werewolf in, then," he said impatiently. Remus frowned slightly at the term 'werewolf'. He did have a name, after all. Nonetheless, he nodded politely at the woman as she quite unsincerely wished him luck before he stepped into the room.