Lily's POV
"Aww! Devlin! What are you doing here?" Ginny walks over to me where I sit watching my godson play in the garden.
"Padfoot and Moony change name to Black," he tells her happily. "Devlin stay with Lily."
"That's great," she smiles at him happily.
He wanders off after Crookshanks, and Ginny takes the opportunity to question me further,
"Why did they both have to go?"
"Remus is a werewolf, so there are rules intact to stop him from just changing his name as relatively easily as we can. Sirius has to confirm that he is happy with it," I explain softly. "It would normally take longer than it is, but Sirius kicked up a fuss."
She laughs,
"What makes me think he does that a lot?"
I grin too,
"Sirius likes getting his way, and he certainly doesn't like anyone threatening, or upsetting his Mate. They went today because it's the weekend, so I can baby-sit."
She grins,
"If we leave with him now we'll have a good head start!"
I laugh loudly,
"True, but when they did catch up with us, they'd kill us."
"Lily," Devlin walks back over and shows me what he has found.
"Hey, that's a ladybird," I tell him. "See the pretty spots?"
"Spotty," he beams. "Devlin like ladybird."
"I'm sure she loves you too," Ginny tells him, which makes his smile widen.
"You have to put her back soon, though," I tell him. "She doesn't have any food to eat on your hand."
"Back on bush," Devlin confirms. "Like caterpilly at home."
"You mean caterpillar," I smile.
He nods happily and carries the creature away.
I chat to Ginny about nothing in particular for a while, but the conversation eventually winds itself round to children.
"He's so sweet," she tells me. "Sirius and Remus are really lucky."
I nod,
"It is nice to have a child around," I smile sadly. "We missed a lot with Harry."
She nods,
"Yeah. He missed out, too."
"Just as soon as we move out I think I'll pester James for another," I laugh.
"I'm not sure he'd object," she sniggers.
"He might," I disagree, but with a grin. "I think I want to adopt this time. We did the nappy thing with Harry; it was fun, but I think I can live without it."
She nods slowly,
"I'd rather have a baby."
I shrug lightly,
"I like babies, but I think I might prefer Devlin's age, or a little older."
"Would you adopt a werewolf?" she asks.
I pause and look over at her,
"A werewolf?"
She blushes slightly,
"Well, where Devlin was. They haven't shut the place down, or changed the law. After the Full Moon in two days there may well be more children there again."
"How many children could possibly be bitten over one Moon? Let alone abandoned…" I shake my head in disbelief.
"The Ministry takes them from across the UK," Ginny tells me. "I snuck a look at the records when I was there the other day. Last Moon four children arrived."
"Four!" I splutter.
She nods sadly,
"The joined Devlin, who was the only survivor from previous Moons."
"What happened to them?" I ask, dreading her answer.
"They were killed," tears escape to run down her checks. "The Ministry 'tested which dose of tranquilliser' to use on them, and they over-dosed…"
"Oh god…" I pull her to me.
"I copied the papers and sent them to the press," she adds through her sniffles.
I nod,
"Gees… ok, do me a favour?"
"Yes?" she murmurs.
"Don't tell Remus. I'll let Sirius know, if he doesn't know already, and he can break it to Moony," I tell her.
She nods,
"You all look out for each other, don't you?"
"Always," I hug her tightly.
Sirius' POV
"Finally official!" I grin at my Mate. "You're all mine!"
He laughs easily,
"Stop gloating!"
"Never," I grin back as I wrap my arms around him. "I love you so much! There is no way I will ever stop feeling lucky to have you."
He shakes his head in amusement,
"I love you, too."
"Now, Remus Black," I tug him close to me as I walk down the corridor with my arm across his shoulder. "I think we had better get home?"
He nods, smiling wider suddenly,
"Yeah, we need to get back to Devlin."
"Hey, no!" I chide him.
He looks at me, confused.
"You can't give him a nickname, and then just not use it!" I object. "You call him Wolfcub unless he's being naughty."
He laughs,
"Fair enough," he agrees. "Though he would have to be exceeding bad for you to consider it naughty!"
I laugh loudly,
"True!"
We step on to the lift to go down to the lobby. We don't have the lift to ourselves, so we stay quiet. We step out into the lobby, and into pure pandemonium.
"Sirius Black!" yell various reporters. "Mr Black is it true that…?"
I have my wand out before I even have time to truly acknowledge what is happening,
"Don't you dare!" Moony snaps from beside me.
"You have a better suggestion?" I mutter, but then just point my wand at the ceiling and let off an exploding noise. The lobby falls silent.
"Ok," I flash my award-winning I'm-gay-and-in-a-relationship-but-don't-you-girls-just-love-me-anyway? smile. "One at a time."
Later
"That went well," I admit grudgingly as we climb onto the Knight Bus.
Moony just laughs at me,
"You loved it!"
I grin,
"It's kinda good to know I still have it!" I wink at him.
He rolls his eyes but smiles,
"You're too charismatic for your own good."
We take seats at the back so that it is easier to stay upright. We are part way through our journey when a little girl, (miraculously managing to stay vertical), comes at stands before us.
"Hey," Remus greets her kindly.
"You're Sirius and Remus," she smiles nervously. "Can I have your photograph, please?"
"Pardon?" Moony splutters.
I laugh at him, then turn back to her,
"We didn't really do anything impressive, honey."
"You helped beat You-Know-Who!" she exclaims; though she can hardly be old enough to remember him. "And you escaped from Azkaban!" she continues, "and you came back from the dead!"
When you put it like that…
"Oh yeah," I murmur. "Umm, I guess so."
We smile as she takes her photo and she goes away.
"That has to be the strangest…" Moony murmurs.
I laugh,
"I know what you mean. I don't think I've ever given a photograph before."
"You mean, other than to the reporters and to your fan-girls back at Hogwarts?" he raises an eyebrow.
I laugh,
"That was a crazed rumour spread by Prongs and Wormtail! I swear it's not true!"
He laughs then rests back against me,
"Those were good times."
I nod,
"We had fun, but I think this is just as fun."
He looks up at me,
"True. Except that I really don't like this bus."
"I'll buy you a car," I agree.
He looks away, embarrassed.
"Moony… don't even think of going on a guilt trip…"
"You do too much for me," he shakes his head.
I laugh,
"Yeah, well. We do need a car, Love. The fact you are living with me does not really effect how much I buy."
"Sirius, don't be ridiculous," he rolls his eyes. "You buy at least twice as much stuff as you would if it was just you."
I shrug lightly,
"But I would be miserable."
Later, Remus' POV
I think I have upset Padfoot. He has gone rather quiet, and is chewing his lip.
"What's wrong?" I ask quietly as we get off the bus at the Burrow.
"Nothing," he mutters, then heads straight to James and Lily's room.
I scowl, then join the others in the garden.
"Moony!" Devlin runs over.
"Hey there, Devlin!" I scoop him into my arms, choosing to concentrate on other things for now.
Lily and Ginny come over as well.
"You chose a good day for it," Lily smiles. "The sun has been out."
I grin,
"It's been a pretty good day all round."
She looks fidgety, then suddenly gives up and throws her arms around my neck,
"I'm sooo happy for you!"
I laugh easily and hug her back with my free arm,
"Thank you!"
"Where's Sirius?" she asks.
"I think he went looking for James," I tell her, shifting Devlin a little in my arms.
I sense him exit the house.
"Ah," I smile, "here he is."
He wraps his arms around me and rests his chin on my shoulder. His head is level with Devlin's.
"Padfoot," Devlin smiles then gestures that he wants to get down. He runs off after Crookshanks, who has the sense to jump onto a nearby fence.
"So," Sirius kisses my neck, "how is my blushing bride?"
Lily and Ginny laugh easily and I can tell Sirius is grinning.
I roll my eyes, but to feel my face heat up,
"Why do you get to be the groom?"
"I'm taller than you," he replies instantly. "Also, I can dance better."
"That means you get to lead," I lean back against him. "It doesn't mean anything more."
He just laughs and hugs me closer. I let myself wonder why his mood has so instantly changed, but I will have to ask him later.
James' POV
I walk out into the garden and stand beside Padfoot as he cuddles Moony.
"Hey," Moony smiles happily in greeting. I am struck by how blissful he looks right now.
"Hey," I grin back, "congratulations and all that."
He snorts with laughter,
"Thanks Prongs."
"The Marauders," Lily laughs, "together again!"
"Not quite," I shrug. "Wormtail isn't here."
"He forfeited his membership," Padfoot replies.
I scowl,
"Maybe, but he was our friend."
"What do you mean, maybe!?" Padfoot stands up straighter and glares at me.
"Sirius…" Moony murmurs.
"I liked him at school, and I don't think he was always evil. In fact I think he was never truly bad!" I reply, heatedly.
"What? James, he killed you and Lily and nearly Harry! He is the reason Harry grew up with the Dursleys, the reason I ended up in Azkaban and why Moony lived in poverty!"
"He was in the wrong place at the wrong time," I growl back. "He was never as strong or as brave as we were, Sirius. We can't judge him to the same standards."
"He betrayed us! He gave you up to Voldemort!"
I see Moony shake his head and walk away with a small smile on his face.
"He was our friend! It's my choice if I choose to forgive him!"
"You… How can you?" he looks revolted.
"I remember him how he was at school!"
"Moony didn't like him!" he snaps. "He was evil even then."
"Moony snapped at him once or twice in the very beginning to establish his dominance!" I reply heatedly. "He knew he had to be submissive to us, and didn't want such a small member of the Pack getting any ideas!" I roll my eyes, "You have got such a selective memory!"
He looks really angry now,
"Yeah, well. Maybe because I spent 12 years going insane in that hellhole! Did it occur to you that maybe you had the better deal? Nobody can hurt you when you're dead!"
The garden falls silent. I don't know about everyone else, but I feel rather shocked.
"I…" I don't know what to say.
He looks conflicted. Like he doesn't think he meant to say that, but really can't take it back either.
Moony just rolls his eyes,
"Guys, stop acting like overly hormonal teenagers. If nothing else you're upsetting Devlin."
Sirius and I both pivot to face the young boy.
"Ah, Devlin…" Padfoot murmurs, but doesn't move as he sees the tears in his son's eyes.
Moony comforts the boy on his own,
"Shh… don't worry. They do this all the time."
I glance at Padfoot guiltily and our eyes lock.
"Prongs… look, I'm sorry, I didn't mean that."
I shrug lightly,
"Hey, no, it's ok. You don't have to forgive him if you don't want to. You're right, I haven't had twenty years to dwell on the fact I was betrayed."
He grins suddenly,
"So, how about we fight to decide which it should be?"
"Didn't we just… Oh! You mean fight!" I laugh. "We haven't done that for years!"
He grins,
"You chicken?"
I grin back,
"No, I'm a stag, you daft mutt!"
With that we both transform and play fight it out.
Later, Remus' POV
I worry about those two, I really do. They have possibly the largest fight they have ever had, then smooth it all over within a minute.
To be honest I am rather relieved that James thinks that Moony did like Wormtail. I felt intensely guilt ridden when I thought I might have been able to prevent what happened.
We have moved inside now, as it is getting cold. I have curled myself up into the armchair near the door. Sirius is lying with his legs over the arm of the sofa, and his head on James' lap. Lily is sitting beside her husband, and is playing with my Mate's longish hair. Devlin is playing with some old Quidditch toys of Ron's, and Harry and Ron are chatting on the other sofa. Molly has brought a chair in from the dinning room and is chatting to Lily.
I watch over my Pack happily. I know now that Moony does accept them all. He would be far more protective of Devlin if he didn't.
Devlin, or should I be calling him Wolfcub now? Anyway, he's coming over to me now and he looks tired.
"Moony," he climbs up onto my arms. "Wolfsbane and bedtime, please."
I nod,
"Yes, I agree." I look up at my Mate, "Padfoot? Stop flirting with James, it's time to go home."
He laughs easily, and shoots James an exaggerated wink before joining me.
Everyone gets up to see us off.
"Now, boys," Molly leads us to the kitchen. "You take the fire home, you hear? It's too late to be taking Devlin on the bus."
"You're sure?" I reply. "I mean, we don't want to use up your floo powder…"
"We have plenty," she brushes off my objection. "If you are really bothered Sirius can Apperate, can't you, Honey?"
I see Sirius fighting a laugh,
"Certainly, Molly."
She nods,
"Now, you get going and enjoy the rest of your weekend!"
"Thank you, Molly," I smile, then take some of the powder and shift Devlin in my arms. "Grimmauld Place," I state clearly.
I step into the kitchen and put Devlin down. I brush the small amount of soot off of our clothes and look up as Sirius Apperates into the room.
"Tired," Devlin holds his arms out to my Mate.
Sirius picks him up as I fetch the wolfsbane. We both take some, then Sirius takes Devlin up to bed.
He rejoins me quarter of an hour later in the living room.
"You and James really need to learn not to fight in front of others," I chastise him.
He laughs,
"Fighting is who we are. It's not our fault that other people don't know that we reach a climatic point, then just make up like nothing happened."
I laugh,
"I know."
"Will Moony mind having others around over the Moon?" he asks after several minutes of silent cuddling.
"You mean, because of Dev… I mean, Wolfcub?"
"Yeah," he agrees, with a slight grin.
"He will want them there," I snuggle up closer to my Mate. "Wolfcub needs to be introduced to the Pack. That's the way it works. Moony thinks he won't be accepted unless he is introduced at the earliest opportunity."
"So it helped that we invited the others over on the day Wolfcub came home?"
"Definitely," I nod.
We sit is silence for a while, then I remember that something was bothering my Mate earlier.
"I just worry about you," he tells me suddenly.
"Pardon?" I look at him in surprise.
He grins,
"You were about to ask me what was bothering me earlier. I felt you tense a little and you scowled in that absent way you have when you're thinking."
I laugh,
"Ok, but why did you act all quiet and decidedly un-Padfootish?"
"Un-Padfootish?" he laughs.
I shrug a little and gesture for him to answer the question.
"I worry myself silly about you over the Moon," he admits quietly. "Now I have two of you to worry about."
"Things will be better for Devlin," I comfort him. "His transformations will all be with wolfsbane from a young age, he won't end up with the scars I have."
He nods,
"He seems to have the public on his side, too."
I nod,
"Public opinion of werewolves is changing."
"The thing is…" he pauses, "after the Moon I comfort you. I have done when ever possible for years. Now we have Wolfcub… He's going to be scared, Moony. I don't know where my loyalties should lie."
"Look after him," I reply instantly. "He's younger and needs it more. I can cope on my own."
"You shouldn't have to," Padfoot sighs. "You're my Mate; I should be with you."
"He's our cub," I tell him firmly, "he comes first."
We sit in silence for an hour or so, each thinking things over as we cuddle.
"Mmm…" I stretch slightly and yawn.
"Bedtime, huh?" Padfoot sounds amused.
"Mmm," I nod against his chest, then move to stand up.
"Hey, no," he pulls me back to him. "This is as close as I am ever going to get to being married, and we didn't come through the front door, so I have to make do with the bedroom."
"What?" I stare at him, "Padfoot?"
He grins and I realise what is going on; I struggle to stand up, but he is too fast. The next thing I know Sirius has my in his arms and is carrying me up the stairs. I wrap my arms around his neck tightly, and pull myself to be more at his level.
"Sirius, Merlin help me, if you drop me!" I hiss at him to avoid waking our cub.
He laughs softly,
"I carry you this way after every Moon, I don't drop you then, what makes you think I will now?"
I laugh against him as I hid my face, which rather quickly turns into giggling.
"I love you," he smirks as we enter the bedroom.
I smile up at him happily,
"I love you, too."
Author Notes:
Hmm, I am perfectly aware that this story isn't going anywhere fast, but that's just how it's working out… The story is still vaguely doing what I want it to do, which is good I suppose!
NixiNox- Lol, I think I will do that, actually! If just so that I can write James irritated and Sirius laughing at him!
ano- I won't, don't worry. Harry has been at it in his spare-time since he started Auror training, (so, as he started when he was, say, 18, and is 20 now, that's two years or so), but he still doesn't have it yet. Lily hasn't done anything towards it, so won't be transforming anytime soon, I'm not sure how long I'll make it take, but not this Moon, that's for sure!
Miss Anonymous hp- You are welcome! I agree; I imagine James as a kind of chestnut brown. I think I may make Lily a leopard, so she'll be yellow and black… but that isn't just yet. I'm still not sure about Harry.
Crescomellonnin- Thank you! Lol, am I detecting that a lot of people want me to make Harry a dog to irritate James? Anyway, thanks for the suggestions!
Conn JS1- It's nice when people notice the subtleties behind the writing, so thank you! I hope you continue to enjoy!
Martino- I have already e-mailed you with my views, but I will add some again here for the benefit of people who read the review and not the e-mail… I am sorry if you feel I have been unfair to Wormtail, but this is a first person non-Marauder-era fic, so some of the views put across are in role, and are not my own. The characters in the story are not gods, and do not remember everything perfectly. If they speak about things pointing to Wormtail not being trustworthy at school it is because they are reading into things. The style of the story means I cannot correct them during the story, so I leave it to you to make your own conclusions. Anyway, thank you for taking the time to review, even if you are against what I have written. I acknowledge your right to your opinion, even though I do not agree with it myself, I hope you acknowledge my right to my own.
Thank you to every one else who reviewed! I hope to write again over the weekend, if I'm not on overtime, but hey! Watch this space! ;) The next chapter may be the Full Moon, at least that is what it is at the moment, but that my change if I have some productive daydreaming time between now and continuing to write!
As always, suggestions and corrections are welcome!
Thanks again.
