The dinner had been merry thanks to Hernione's and Sirius' wonderful news : Hermione had performed the charm of the pregnancy test that morning, and she was with child.

As a consequence, the work dinner had become a celebratory one, any discussion about their impending mission being momentarily postponed.

Now they were raising the table, talking and laughing as Tonks and Sirius seemed to be launched in a contest of the one who would suggest the silliest name for the future baby. Only Ginny had already gone home, saying she was tired,

As for Remus, he was sitting on the couch, at Hermione's request. Always the perceptive one, she had notice how tired he was, as it was only three days after the full moon.

It was good to watch Sirius being that happy in spite of the difficult mission he was about to undertake, Remus thought. I was not the dangerous exhilaration he used to display when he was about to take risks. No, he could see that his friends was deeply happy, but in a quiet way, and that he would be as focused as it was needed when they would start discussing the plan. Yes, Sirius had changed, maybe more than he realised it himself. Thanks to Hermione, mostly. And now, thanks to someone else.

It reminded Remus of another announcement of a future birth, now far in the past. And of a conversation he'd had with James about it.

"You know why, between the two of you, I chose Sirius to be Harry's godfather, don't you ?" James had asked.

He'd been surprised by the question.

"Not really. Who would chose a werewolf as his son's godfather ? It's just common sense".

"It's not because of that, Moony. I know you'd make sure you'd never put Harry in danger. But you have loving parents, you know what family is. Sirius has no one, except us, and we're at war. If something happens to us, he'll have absolutely nothing to hold on. Do you understand ?"

And Remus had nodded, realising how true Jame's statement was. He knew that Sirius's sometimes incredibly reckless behaviour was not the sign of some hidden death wish, as people who didn't know him as much he did sometimes thought. It was just that he didn't feel responsible for anyone, that he thought, deep down, that his safety wasn't vital to anyone. If he died, he knew that Jame and Remus would be devastated, as he would be if they did, but in the end, they would go on with their lives, for their had parents, or even, in Jame's case, a wife and a son, who counted on them for staying around. So, from Sirius' point of view, when there were some risks to take, why not take them, especially if it could be fun enough to make him forget everything for a while ?

So, yes. Choosing Sirius to be Harry's godfather had been the thing to do. It had given him some taste of real family ties, even for a short time. And, when things had turned to the worse, it had given him something, or rather someone, to hold on, even, or rather especially, if that someone had only been a tiny baby.

And now, he was about to have a child of his own. Remus knew that Hermione was the center of Sirius's life, that he'd do anything he could to come back to her. But that child would give him again another reason not to take unecessary risks.

"Remus", Harry calls, "can you join us please ? I think we need your help".

"What ever for ? asked Remus. "It's been a long time since I knew more than you about defense against the Dark Arts".

"Actually, we need your expertise about werewolves", answered Harry. "It's the fourth one in two weeks who has been found dead, drained from all his blood. Every time, there is no signe of a struggle, as if they had let quietly the attacker sever their jugular vein, or, more likely, as if they had been stupefied before. They were all perfectly normal citizens, apart from their condition. They took the wolfbane potion every full moon and never caused trouble. It is unlikely that there was more than one attacker. Do you think this could be the work of a wild werewolf ?"

Remus thought for a moment then shook his head. "I've never heard of any wild werewolf with such a MO. Why would one of them decide to drain his victims from their blood ? It's not werewolf blood they crave. Wild werewolves are not particularly interested in their congeners, unless they seek personal vengeance. And they tear their victims apart".

Harry nodded grimly. "That what I thought. I don't know who's behind these murders, but I'm afraid it's something even more sinister than a pack of wild werewolf. Any reason you can see to suspect a link with TP Mining and our present main concern ?"

This time, Remus hesitated. "Honestly, I don't know, Harry. If there is any use of werewolf blood in dark magic, I've never heard of it. What do you think, Sirius ?"

"In spite of all the unspeakable things I've seen one or another of my dear relatives do", said Sirius with a dry smile, "and all the nasty recipes my mother tried to drill into me, I've never heard that werewolf blood was of any use".

"Hermione ?"

But Hermione shook her head too. She couldn't remember any book, neither in the library of the 12 Grimmauld place, nor in the Restricted Section in Hogwarts, that dealt with such a topic.

"I can make researches when we come back".

Harry nodded. "In the meantime, we've warned all the werewolves to seek protection in places protected by a Secret".

"There's some other very disturbing news I've learnt this afternoon", said Tonks. "Narcissa has been found this morning , wandering in the streets. She's obviously been struck by an very strong Obliviate Spell. Apparently whoever did this didn't bother to avoid damaging her memory more than it could be necessary for them. She thinks she's twenty-four, she has no memory of the war, and she didn't recognise Draco when we asked him to come."

"No wonder" said Sirius, "if she thinks she's twenty-four. She had Draco one year after".

"She's at St Mungo now. Of course, it's impossible not to consider the possibility that there is a link between what happened to Narcissa and some scheming from Marcus, Druella and the others. She was the wife of the last CEO after all, she might have known things".

"But would Druella hurt her niece, and Marcus his cousin ?" asked Hermione

"Believe me, they would", said Sirius, i"f they decided that she's a threat for their own safety. After all, she's divorcing Lucius, and she lied to Voldemort about Harry's death. For them, she's a traitor now".

Hermione nodded in agreement. "That means that we must try to know more about what happened to Narcissa, and wait until St Mungo's healers have managed to make her recover her memory".

"Hermione," said Sirius softly. "You know we can't do that, they can decide to kill Gormuck any time now I told them that I know about the hidden mine. I must go see him tomorrow, as we've already decided".

Hermione sighed. She knew that Sirirus was right, which didn't mean she liked it.

"At least go see Narcissa before, with Adromeda maybe. She might recognise one of you and it might help her recover her memory".

"I think it's a good idea", said Harry, and the Lupins nodded in agreement as well.

"All right then, said Sirius. Let's do that".