Rating: Yes, I know that I've updated the rating to M, but I've never been quite sure about the rating and I figured that it was better to be wrong than removed off fan-fiction. So, here it is.

Disclaimer: None of the characters mentioned in this story belong to me, but rather to J.K. Rowling, I promise to return them to her once I am done with them. The poem which this story features is taken from the novel, The Smoke Jumper by author Nicholas Evans.

Part Nine – Birth

"Nor are they stone,

For even stone cannot the wind and rain withstand,

And mighty mountain peaks in time reduce to sand."

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July 1980

Remus Lupin woke with a jolt at the sound of tapping on the window before slowly getting out of bed, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He was careful not to wake his still sleeping boyfriend as he moved to the bedroom window where he could faintly make out the form of an owl. Why would someone be sending him a letter at this time of night? Unless… had there been another attack? Remus hurried towards the window, pulling it open roughly and ripping the letter unceremoniously from the owl who hooted indignantly.

Remus sighed when he read the five simple words on the piece of parchment, and then they really sunk in and he yelped, startlingly a naked Sirius Black awake.

"What? What is it?" Sirius asked, sitting up and looking around him frantically, finally resting his eyes on a rumpled Remus who was hastily pulling on a pair of jeans. "Remus? What is it?"

"Get up." Remus said, reaching for his shirt. "We have to go to St. Mungo's. Now."

"What?" Sirius exclaimed, jumping out of the bed and reaching for his pants. "Remus, what's happened? Has someone been hurt?"

"No, nothing like that. Here." Remus said, throwing the piece of parchment at his boyfriend.

Sirius scanned the parchment quickly, reading the five words without truly taking them in: Baby's coming. St. Mungo's. Now. When Sirius recognised his best friend's messy scrawl and the meaning behind the words, he, like his boyfriend before him, yelped, and threw the parchment on the bed, hurriedly pulling on his jumper over his naked chest.

"They're having a baby?" Sirius said sometime later as he followed Remus down the corridors of St. Mungos hospital.

"Yes, Sirius." Remus sighed, looking at his boyfriend and smiling. "You've known that for the past seven months."

"I know, I know. But they're having the baby now. In the middle of the night at the end of July." Sirius, said, trying to make his point clear. Remus just smiled and pulled his dark haired boyfriend to him, kissing him fiercely before moving on again down the white corridor.

When the pair reached the room they had been told held their friends they were shocked to come across an incredibly mussed – more so than usual – James Potter standing outside the door. James was listening intently to the sounds coming from inside the room, running his hand constantly through his messy black hair, and didn't even notice the approach of his two friends until Sirius placed a hand on his shoulder. James jumped, spinning around in a defensive mode.

"Oh, it's you guys." James said, relaxing slightly before running his hand once again through his hair.

"Stop that." Remus said sharply, knocking James' hand away a moment later when he tried to run it through his hair again.

"They've started." James said, nervously, moving his head to indicate the door behind him. James turned to Sirius with wide eyes and said in a tiny voice, "I'm having a baby." Remus hit himself sharply on the head.

"What is with you two. You've known for months that this was coming."

"Yeah, but it's actually coming now." Sirius said, wiping tears from his eyes. "Its real now."

"Oh for Gods sake." Remus said, looking at them bemusedly and sighing gratefully when Peter came ambling around the corner.

"I just got the owl." Peter said, coming to a stop in front of them, eyeing Sirius and James worriedly when he noticed that they were both crying. "Has something gone wrong? How are they?"

"They're fine," Remus said, indicating the room where they could hear Lily moaning. "Well, as fine as you can be when you're giving birth to a Potter. I'm not so sure about these two. They seem to be having trouble coping with reality."

"Oh." Peter said, this time looking at his two friends sympathetically. "That explains it."

"You're having a baby!" Sirius suddenly wailed from beside them, startling Peter and Remus.

"And you're going to be a godfather!" James said, falling on Sirius, who froze and looked at his friend questioningly.

"I am?" He asked, and then at James' nod, he jumped up and down excitedly. "Hey Remus! I'm going to be a godfather! A godfather!" Sirius continued in this pattern for awhile until he suddenly stopped, a serious look coming across his face. "Shit. Does this mean that I'm going to have to be all responsible now?" Remus laughed and pulled his bigger boyfriend into a seat before sitting on top of him, forcing him to calm down somewhat. James had stopped his own hysterics some time ago and now sat alternatively biting his fingernails and running his hand through his hair. Peter was running back and forth, providing cups of coffee to the other Marauders and himself, seemingly unable to sit still.

For three hours the four friends sat outside the room, listening to the sound of Lily giving birth until suddenly, not long into the morning of July the 31st, there was a silence followed by the clear wail of a baby. James shot up to his feet, a goofy smile on his face as he started bouncing on the balls of his feet excitedly. The other three lurched to their feet not that far behind him.

Eventually a nurse came out, eyeing the four of them suspiciously before asking which one of them was the father. James looked insulted for a moment before he replied that he was. The nurse looked him over before saying that he was allowed to enter the birthing room and that he was allowed to take his friends in with him, as long as they were all quiet. At this last statement she looked pointedly at Sirius who was bouncing up and down.

James literally ran into the room, stopping short at Lily's bed side where she was lying back exhausted on the pillows, their baby wrapped up tightly in her arms. Lily smiled when James approached her before holding the bundle out to him.

"It's a boy." She said, smiling at James' excitement.

"A boy!" James exclaimed, turning around so that the Marauders could see his new pride and joy. "Sirius, Remus, Peter, I'd like you to meet Harry," James said turning to look back at his wife lovingly. "Harry James Potter."

Remus stepped closer to the bundle in James' arms and peered down at the new addition to the Marauder family. Harry even now had a fine mop of black hair, which reminded Remus strongly of James' and although his eyes as yet were the blue colour normal with newborn babies, Remus could see clearly a slight speckle of emerald green in them. Sirius stepped up next to Remus and peered down at the small baby before smiling and looking up at James, holding his hands out. "May I?" he asked.

James smiled back at his best friend and gave tiny Harry over into his possession. Sirius smiled a big toothy grin down at his godson who looked back up at him with clear eyes before grabbing tightly onto a strand of his hair. Sirius winced in pain when Harry tugged on the strand of hair in his hand, causing the others to laugh. Remus stepped forward to help Sirius free his hair.

"Feisty little thing, isn't he?" Peter commented as Harry only let go of the strand of Sirius' hair he had been holding onto to grab another and yank on it tightly.

For some time, Sirius, Remus and Peter stayed with the new family, until Lily complained of exhaustion and they decided to leave and get some sleep themselves. When they stepped out of the hospital, Remus and Sirius waved goodbye to Peter before heading in the direction of their apartment.

"So…" Sirius said after some time. "I'm a godfather."

Remus laughed and wrapped his arm around Sirius' waist. "Still hasn't sunk in, has it?"

"No!" Sirius exclaimed loudly. "I mean, it was amazing. That little guy is possibly the first in a whole new generation of Marauders. I can tell already; Harry is going to be causing a lot of trouble when he gets to Hogwarts." Remus smiled at his boyfriend, not saying anything. "I can't wait to share with him everything I know." Sirius continued. "James probably won't be able to do so, what with Lily breathing down his neck. But that's okay, I'll be there to tell him everything he could possibly need to know."

"Oh Lily is going to kill you if you lead her son astray." Remus said teasingly, bumping deliberately into his boyfriend.

"Astray? Teaching the boy a good way to play pranks is not leading him away!" Sirius said, bumping Remus back and causing him to stumble. "Oh, how I hope that he has someone like Snape in his year level to play pranks on."

"If he's anything like his father and godfather," Remus said, as they started up the steps to their apartment. "I'm sure that he'll be able to find a way to get into trouble no matter what."

"I hope so, Moony," Sirius said, turning to face Remus and stopping at the top of their stairs. "Life isn't fun without someone to make fun of, just as it isn't fun without friends like you, and James, and Peter."

"You're getting quite sentimental in your old age, Mr. Black." Remus said, smiling before opening the front door of their apartment.

"Old age!" Sirius exclaimed, coming into the apartment and slamming the door after him, running up the stairs in Remus' trail. "I'll have you know, Mr. Lupin, that you are barely even two months younger than I am!" Sirius ran into the bedroom which the two of them shared and looked around desperately for Remus, not hearing the door close behind him until it was too late.

Sirius spun around just in time to see Remus come flying towards him, he braced himself and lifted his arms up in time to catch Remus who wrapped his legs around Sirius' waist, kissing him ferociously. Sirius laughed and fell backwards onto the bed, with Remus straddling his waist. Clothes were quickly dispensed of as hands explored bodies and tongues entwined in a desperate battle for domination.

Later, as Remus lay curled up with his head resting on Sirius' chest, somewhere between the realms of sleep and wakefulness, he heard Sirius whisper softly into the night.

"I love you." Remus smiled and moved closer to Sirius so that their limbs were completely intertwined.

"I know, you daft git. I love you too." And he knew that he always would, no matter what.

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Message from the Author: I know I've said it before, but thank you so much to everyone who has ever reviewed. It means so much to me. I think that you all know what the next chapter will be. Hold on tight everybody, there's going to be a slight angst warning. Thank you.

Evalanis