House Arrest

Disclaimer: I do not own very much at all.

Thank yous: Sarahamanda, orlin, EsScaper, Eleonora1, ThouandI, ShiTiger, Goddess of Gorgeousness, iamtherealmaverick, catseye348, Shinigami, Legobaustein, Angel-In-Gold, jen, Black Kat64, Little Loony, Varyssa, Elizabeth Annette, jay, Mistress Vamp, shadowcat, caligula, alex, Dark Fairy 4 evur, Sezza Rikda, Wind X Fire X Water, and redrose2310.

EsScaper: Oh yes, slash is always coming when I get my hands on a computer. Yeah, James/Sirius does seem right, but I find it hard to write them anymore so I just read it instead.

Eleonora1: Hehe, I know I'm annoying. As for why Sirius suspected Remus, I was rather hoping that would have been answered in the books, of course it may still be but I doubt it now that Siri is gone. I may work that into the story briefly though, if you would like to see it.

Pairings: Sirius/Lucius and very soon Remus/Severus.

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Chapter 5: Grimmauld Christmas

It was late one morning when Sirius started to wake up. He felt very warm and content, partially because he had been sleeping much better the last few weeks than he had in ages, and also because he was becoming quite accustomed to having a pregnant blond in his arms when he woke. He had taken to spending the nights with Lucius because the pregnant man did not want to be alone now that he was just passed being seven months pregnant, but also because he was having nightmares from his short time in Azkaban.

The two ex-convicts had been growing ever closer since their first real talk over a month ago. They had been spending a lot of time together, just talking about anything or making fun of their families, they had even progressed to cuddling. Lucius had wanted somebody there to hold him because he was feeling very emotional and lonely, and Sirius had been more than willing to hold him during their little talks or throughout the night while they slept.

Their relationship had not progressed from there, though Sirius was privately hoping that something more might come of this companionship that they had built. And if something that Lucius had sleepily mumbled one night, before falling asleep, was anything to go by, then he did as well.

Sirius stretched a little and lifted his head to gaze groggily down at the peacefully sleeping platinum blond in his arms. Lucius looked so much younger than his 42 years when he was sleeping, not that that age was old in the wizarding world, considering they could live to be over 150. But with everything the man had been through, sleep made him look so gentle and innocent, which were things that he probably hadn't been in quite some time.

"Stop watching me sleep."

Sirius snapped out of his daze and smirked at the rousing blond; "Sorry, but you are much more amiable when you're asleep."

"Shut up…"

"My point exactly," replied Sirius, he tapped Lucius's side before hauling himself into a sitting position. "Are you hungry?"

"Always…" Lucius gave a huge yawn and stretched a little. "It's too early…"

Sirius got his watch off one of the bedside tables and looked at it, "Luce, its eleven thirty."

"Still too early."

"Suit yourself," said Sirius before getting to his feet and heading for the bedroom door. "Are you going to come downstairs anytime soon or are you going to be your usual antisocial self?"

"Antisocial self."

Sirius shrugged and opened the door, "I'll bring you some brunch up soon, or I'll send Hermione up with it, I'm sure she's eager to say hello."

Lucius just mumbled something indecipherable and rolled over.

Sirius smirked and left the bedroom, closing the door behind him. He headed downstairs, conscious of his rather sleep messed appearance, but he didn't feel the need to groom himself for people who had seen him in a worse state than this before.

"Good morning," said Remus, as he poured himself a cup of tea from the ornate Black family teapot. "Sleep well?"

"Very," Sirius ruffled Harry's hair as he walked passed his Godson to get some of the breakfast that was left over – bacon, eggs, sausages and toast – Remus was a very good cook really. "What is everyone doing today?" Harry, Hermione, Ron and Ginny had arrive at Twelve Grimmauld Place last night after their long train journey back from Hogwarts, and after dinner last night they had filled both Sirius and Remus in on everything that had happened at Hogwarts since the start of September. Hermione had been very adamant about seeing how Lucius's baby development was coming along last night, but Sirius hadn't let her disturb the blond, but he didn't think he would be able to keep her away from Lucius for today.

"As long as we're not forced to do any cleaning, absolutely anything," replied Ginny, in hopes that Sirius and Remus would be a little less strict than her mother had been the previous two summers when it came to the Order of the Phoenix headquarters.

Remus smirked a little, "Personally I think you should clean, Sirius isn't much of a house maid."

Sirius rolled his eyes at his friend; "Oh thanks, but you are no better when it comes to cleanliness. Lucius doesn't understand the concept of a tidy living space, either."

"Oh, how is he?" questioned Hermione almost too eagerly for Ron and Harry's tastes.

"Why don't you take him some breakfast and find out?"

"All right," Hermione went about loading up a tray with some breakfast a hot and cold drink for Lucius to choose from, and then she wandered serenely out of the kitchen and up the stairs to the blond's bedroom.

"I don't trust him," grumbled Harry after Hermione had left.

Sirius raised his eyebrows and took a gulp of his morning or nearly afternoon coffee before he spoke, "I assure you, Harry, and you two," he directed to the two Weasley children. "Lucius is about as trustworthy as Remus and I. I have spent many evenings talking with him, he is no where near as bad as you have seen in the past."

Ron frowned, "But still, he did attack us in the Department of Mysteries."

"And in return, he was quite brutally attacked," defended Sirius, if someone had told him that he would be speaking so highly of Lucius Malfoy some six or so months ago, he certainly wouldn't have believed them. Before he could continue, Harry spoke up again.

"But, what about the things he's done?" he started, he didn't like that his Godfather seemed so fond of Lucius Malfoy. "Like putting Tom Riddle's diary in Ginny's cauldron…getting, or trying to get Buckbeak executed? Being a Death Eater!"

Remus spoke before Sirius could reply this time, "Maybe he has done some daft things in the past, Harry, but many people can still be redeemed, and by the looks of it, he has done so in Sirius's eyes."

Sirius nodded slowly, "I think you just need to get to know him… I mean, he despises his son as much as you lot do, if it's anything to think about."

Ginny finally spoke, "I never said anything bad against him, I trust Hermione's judgement and she seems pretty eager to get to know him…that and she is a muggleborn, he hasn't killed her yet, has he?"

"No, he hasn't," agreed Sirius. "That and he's over six months pregnant, I doubt he could move faster enough to do so even if he wanted too."

……

Lucius still did not leave his bedroom all day, he was feeling extremely anti-social today and on top of that, dark thoughts about his past were starting to settle on his mind. Sirius and Hermione had been popping in and out of his room throughout the day, checking on him and attempting proper conversation, but he wasn't in the mood for that now.

By that evening, he was feeling quite upset, which was something Sirius noticed straight away when he had brought the pregnant blond some dinner.

"Here's your dinner," said Sirius, quite pointlessly, he quite obviously had food with him.

"I'm not hungry."

Sirius sighed and placed the tray down on the nightstand, "Lucius, what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

Sirius sat down on the bed and placed a gentle hand on Lucius's enlarged belly, "Obviously there is something wrong, so quit acting the petulant child, and tell me."

Lucius gazed at Sirius, sadness in his silvery eyes, which did not entirely mask the haunted look in them, "…You wanted to know who the father of my child is?"

"Well, yes, but you don't have to te-"

"I want too," the blond's reply cutting the dark haired man off, and leaving him silenced. "You have probably already guessed that he is a Death Eater," a silent nod from Sirius confirmed this. "It happened after a Death Eater meeting one evening, one that the Dark Lord called simply so that he could admonish me for being incompetent or something to that effect. I had not actually done anything wrong or threatened one of his missions, but it seems Bellatrix had some great vendetta against me…for some reason. In the end, the Dark Lord decided that instead of simple words, the Cruciatus Curse would be a better punishment for my so-called 'ineptness'…" he rested his hands on top of Sirius's one on his belly, as he gathered his thoughts. Now that he had started telling Sirius, he was going to finish, however hard it was for him to relive what had happened. Even if he decided not to tell Sirius in great detail about what had truly happened to him the night his child was conceived, he would still have it going through his own mind. "He kept me under that curse for…for what must have been at least three or four minutes…then he just lifted it and left, along with many of his followers.

"I was in too much pain to get up and leave with them straight away…and some of those that stayed seemed to have realised that, one of them was Bellatrix," he continued, his voice going a bit quieter as he spoke. Sirius silently vowed to get revenge on his psychotic cousin, all of this was apparently her fault. "The first I knew of this…I suppose you could call it a 'mutiny' as I was higher up in the Dark Lord's ranks than they were…the first I knew of it was when one of them, I'm still unsure as to who it was now, kicked me in the stomach before I could at least get to my knees.

"They started to taunt me…Bellatrix leading them, as per usual…" he liked the feeling of Sirius's free hand gently rubbing his sore back, as he continued. "They beat me some more…there must have been about six of them, I think… I tried to get them to stop, I was certain our Master wouldn't be happy about it if he found out what they were doing to me…but I can see now that my life was pretty much worthless to him by that point… I pleaded with them, but all that achieved was making it worse. By that point I could barely move on the floor from the amount of pain I was feeling… They took that opportunity of course…to take advantage of my weakened state…"

Sirius could hear the confidence in Lucius's voice slowly ebbing away; he had to hand it to Lucius though, he didn't think that he would have been able to go through this and come out sane on the other side. "Take your time, Luce…"

Lucius sniffed and nodded, some of his blond hair falling into his eyes, not that he cared right now. "The advantage taking, of course, involved ri…ripping my clothes off of me… I-I felt so humiliated already and then…then they forced me onto my stomach and held me there, so that…" he choked back a sob that was threatening to break from his throat. "So that they could…could take it turns to-to have me…"

Sirius pulled the hurt and sniffling pregnant blond into his arms; sure Lucius had been a bastard in the past but he didn't deserve that, nobody did. He wouldn't even wish that kind of torture upon Snape…

Lucius buried his face in the juncture of Sirius's neck and shoulder, "I-I don't know who the father is…Sirius…it-it could be any…any of them…" he finally broke down into a fit of body shaking sobs in Sirius's arms. "…She sp-spent the whole t-time laughing…"

"Sh Luce, its all right," said Sirius in an attempt at consoling the sobbing man in his arms. "They can't hurt you anymore…I won't let them hurt you, or your baby."

……

It was some time later when Lucius slowly pulled away from Sirius a little bit, his sobs having died away a little while ago. He looked at Sirius with red-rimmed eyes from his crying, and tear stained cheeks, an image of himself that he once would have refused to let anyone else see. He was still sniffling a little bit; "…You must think I'm pathetic…"

Sirius frowned, "I think nothing of the sort," he replied firmly, he entwined his fingers with those of one of Lucius's hands. "In fact, if anything, I have a much deeper respect for you than I did before," he saw the questioning in Lucius's still rather water silver eyes. "I admire you for being so strong these last few months, even with what you've been through, and if I get the chance I will kill the Death Eaters responsible, Bellatrix especially."

Lucius gulped and wiped his still tearful eyes on his sleeve, "I don't want anyone fighting my battles for me."

Sirius raised his eyebrows slightly, "Well, Mr. Malfoy, you are going to have to get used to it because that is what I do," a hint of a smile or amusement appeared on Lucius's face briefly. "Anyway, you and this bub are not to be alone, you are stuck with me whether you wish to be or not."

"That idea isn't all too unpleasant, really," replied Lucius, he wiped his eyes again. "Look at me, I am forty-two years old, I am pregnant and I have been bawling my eyes out like a little girl," Sirius snorted. "Even you have to admit that that is pathetic."

The dark haired man shook his head, "Perhaps I would think so if I still didn't like you and you were not pregnant. But I do happen to like you, a lot, and you are pregnant, so I can find it in my heart to forgive you for soaking my shirt through with your tears."

"You are so gracious, Sirius, thank you," there was a hint of sarcasm in the blond's voice, again, he gave a sniff. "I am hungry now."

Sirius smirked, "It's probably gone cold now," Lucius gave a shrug, so Sirius passed the tray to him. "Suit yourself."

"I think I will," Lucius put the tray on the bit of his lap that was still left, but instead of tucking right into the food, he picked at it thoughtfully. "Sirius?"

"Yeah?"

Lucius raised his eyes so that he could see the handsome face of Sirius Black, "Thank you, for…for listening to me, and letting me pour my heart out to you, not many people I have known in the past have been as understanding as you are."

Sirius smiled and tentatively ran his fingers through Lucius's hair, pushing some of it out of the man's eyes, "I must confess, I have never been much of a listener, I always used to do the talking with Remus and James."

Lucius nodded slowly, "You certainly talk a lot, I admit," Sirius grinned at him. "Can you stay with me tonight?"

"I usually do, don't I?"

Lucius gave another small nod, "Well yes, but…" he couldn't quite voice what was on his mind. He studied Sirius's face almost shyly for a few a moments before finally deciding on doing something he had wanting to do for some time now. "Oh, what the hell…" his dinner forgotten about, he pressed his lips to Sirius's. When Sirius gave a surprised squeak he nearly pulled away again, but as he tried to do so he found his head being held in place by Sirius's hands.

Of course, he had been surprised when he had found Lucius's soft lips against his own, but Sirius had wanted to do this for quite some time, he had just never made the first move in case it offended or upset Lucius. But he opened his mouth at the feel of the tongue flicking at his lips and allowed it to slide along his own, as they kissed, he the dark haired man wondered just what he had been waiting for? Lucius was an exceptionally good kisser, and it certainly appeared that they both felt something more than just friendship for each other, especially now.

Finally though the kiss ended, and the two men broke apart, but they didn't move from the very close proximity they were now in; they regarded each other intently though. Lucius then spoke quietly, "I take it you haven't been put off by earlier, then?"

"If anything it made me want to kiss you more," replied Sirius, his fingers threading through Lucius's hair. "I've been wanting to do that for a while, but I didn't think you would appreciate it."

Lucius smirked, "I would not have taken offense, I assure you, though I probably would have cried all over you or something, being pregnant and all."

"I think we have already established that I don't mind soaking up your tears for you," replied Sirius, he sat back a bit dropping his hands from Lucius's thick hair. "Are you going to eat that or not?" Lucius glanced at the tray balancing precariously on his lap and shook his head, so Sirius put it back onto the nightstand. "So…what now?"

Lucius gave a shrug before he gave a yawn, "…Maybe a nap…"

Sirius nodded, "Okay then, get comfortable," it took Lucius a few minutes to do so, it certainly did not appear to be an easy task for a six-month pregnant man. But once he looked comfortable enough, Sirius settled down beside him and pressed a kiss to his white-blond hair. "Tomorrow I think you should find out the gender of your baby."

Lucius snorted, "You're only saying that because you want to help name her."

Sirius lifted his head again, "Her? You sneaky git."

Lucius opened his eyes and glanced at Sirius out of the corner of them, "Well, maybe I forgot to tell you…"

"Oh well," Sirius put his head back down on a pillow again. "I'll just help you pick a name tomorrow then."

"Shut up, Sirius."

"Goodnight to you too, Luce."

An amused snort sounded from the pregnant Malfoy.

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A/N: How was that for a very long overdue update? There is not much left of this story, probably two chapters at the most.

Next Chapter: The more romantic relationship between Lucius and Sirius develops a bit more. Lucius starts deciding on names for his baby, and Remus spills a secret to Sirius.