Sirius' POV

I walk with Prongs as we introduce Wolfcub to the Park. He is currently walking between Moony and Lily, and holding both their hands.

"Big!" he announces happily.

I hear Moony laugh, but I don't catch his reply. Prongs bumps me with his shoulder.

"Hmm? Did you say something?" I turn to him.

He laughs,

"I was just saying that Devlin seems a lot more sure of himself now."

I grin,

"Yeah. Moony's taught him that he's safe. It probably helps that Moony is a werewolf too. I'm sure Wolfcub could sense it the minute I got him home, even if he didn't understand intellectually right away."

"Wolfcub?" Prongs looks amused. "That's his nickname?"

I nod, and laugh a little,

"Moony thought it up, though, not me."

He laughs,

"Well, we all have nicknames now!"

I give him an odd look,

"Lily and Harry don't," I remind him.

"They can't transform yet," he shrugs. "But all the transforming members of the Pack have nicknames."

"Yet?" I query.

He blushes slightly,

"Don't tell Moony, we want it to be a surprise."

"They're Animagi?" I lower my voice.

He shakes his head,

"Not yet. Harry's been at it for two years, apparently, and he might get it soon with my help. Lily would like to, but she hasn't even started to learn."

I nod,

"Moony will like it if they manage it, so will Wolfcub."

He grins,

"The only thing is that I am sure Lily is going to end up as something that eats deer… and I will never live it down if Harry winds up as a dog…"

I snort with laughter.

"Don't laugh," he groans. "Part of me just knows it's going to happen."

I laugh harder and Moony turns to look at us.

"What's so funny back there?" he calls.

"Don't worry," I grin. "You wouldn't find it funny anyway."

He nods, then turns his attention back to our cub and to Evans. Wolfcub spots the swings up ahead of us, and Moony starts to explain about them. They enter the fenced off area to play, and I lounge near the entrance with Prongs.

"They do have nicknames, actually," Prongs adds.

"They do?"

"Yeah," he smirks, "Evans and The-Boy-Who-Lived."

"Not sure they'll appreciate those," I laugh.

Prongs grins and shrugs.

"When does the Moon rise tomorrow, anyway?" he asks.

"About six," I tell him. "What time will you come over?"

"Training finishes at four," he tells me. "But if I get away early I can be at your place by four-fifteen."

I roll my eyes,

"You can't start irritating your coach this early in the season, Prongs."

He glances at me,

"Hey, I'm a member of this Pack too, you know, I should be with you."

I nod slowly,

"Thanks, Prongs."

"It's fine, Padfoot. It's the least I can do. I know what you go through each Moon; I saw it at school. You're my best friend, so anyway that I can help you I will."

I nod,

"You're a good friend, thank you."

"They'll be ok," he tells me quietly. "Moony is made of strong stuff, you know that, and Dev… Wolfcub is too. He survived in the Ministry for a lot longer than most of those kids."

I nod,

"Yeah, Lily briefed me on the statistics."

"Did you tell Moony?" he asks, concerned.

"No, not yet," I sigh. "I might do, but when we have the Moon safely behind us for another month."

He nods in understanding,

"You are a lot stronger than me," he rests his hand on my shoulder. "I don't think I could cope with the worry you go through every month."

"I'd hardy call what I do 'coping'," I sigh.

"What's wrong, Padfoot?" Prongs asks, after a long pause. "You're taking this harder than usual. Is it because of Wolfcub?"

I sigh,

"Wolfcub…"

"What about him?"

"He'll be scared," I reply, looking him in the eyes. "After the Moon he'll be scared; he won't have understood what happened."

"So you'll comfort him," Prongs looks confused.

"Yes, I should," I nod. "I'm his father, but what about Moony? Should I just let my Mate suffer while I care for my son?"

Prongs nods,

"I see what you mean."

Remus' POV

I watch my Mate chatting to James. He looks upset about something, and now James looks troubled too.

I think it is probably to do with the Moon, so I don't go and ask what is wrong. I can feel the affects already; I'm a little more submissive and less sure of myself. I think Wolfcub is going through similar; I notice he keeps checking that Sirius and I are close.

He checks for Sirius more often than he checks for me. I could think that it is just because I'm standing closer to him. However, I rather feel it is because he understands that Sirius is our alpha.

I notice Sirius shake his head suddenly, as if to clear it, then he jumps the fence and comes to stand by my side.

"Hey," I smile.

"Having fun?" he grins back, almost completely hiding the fact something is troubling him.

"I think he likes it here," I nod, deciding to allow his act to slip past me. "I may come here with him more often while the weather is still nice."

Sirius nods,

"Will you be teaching him, too?" he asks. "We haven't spoken about that yet."

I shrug,

"I can do, if you think that's best."

"That's what I'm asking you," he replies gently.

I flinch,

"Sorry."

"Don't be," he puts an arm round my shoulder, "you've done nothing wrong."

I nod,

"Can we discuss this after the Moon?"

He nods,

"Certainly, no worries."

Later

Lily carries Wolfcub as we return to Grimmauld. James walks beside her and Sirius and I bring up the rear.

"You're ok?" Sirius asks gently.

My head jerks up from watch the pavement to look over at him,

"Yes," I say quickly, aware even as I speak that I am doing a good impression of a deer in headlights. "Sorry."

He shakes his head,

"Moony, I'm not angry with you. You know I love you."

I nod,

"I'm ok, Padfoot," I tell him. "I can feel that I'm becoming more submissive though, you know how it is…"

I shot glances at him, looking for reassurance that I know I shouldn't need.

"I love you," he smiles at me, "it will be ok."

I smile back, his assurance granting me temporary relief from my worries,

"I'm glad you're here. I love you, too."

We approach the house and find Ron and Harry sitting together on the doorstep.

"Hullo, what do we have here?" James grins.

"Just thought we'd drop in," Harry grins. "Nobody home, though, so we thought we'd sit here and wait."

"Harry!" Wolfcub squirms until Lily lets him down to run to Harry.

"Hey, Devlin," Harry grins. "You remember Ron?"

"Ron," he nods.

"Have you noticed he has dropped back to one word sentences today?" Padfoot murmurs as we enter the house.

I nod,

"I had noticed."

"Hey, Harry! Come and help your poor old godfather make the drinks while everyone else grabs a seat," Sirius requests with a grin.

Harry laughs, but does follow my Mate to the kitchen.

Sirius' POV

"I've hear though the grapevine that you're going to become an Animagus," I tell Harry as we enter the kitchen, out of hearing range of a certain werewolf.

He looks amused,

"I could have sworn James was going to keep it a secret…"

I laugh,

"I don't count when it comes to secrets James is keeping; he tells me everything."

He grins back,

"I should have guessed really, you are the Marauders, after all."

I laugh,

"You got that right!" I look at him for a second, then shake my head with amusement.

"What?" he laughs, "What did I do?"

"I'm a year old than you," I smile, "but I remember babysitting you. I guess I hadn't thought about it quite like that before."

"You and Moony looked after me a lot?" he asks.

I nod,

"We were two of the few Lily actually trusting with her precious baby boy!"

We get the drinks in silence for a few minutes, then I turn to him again,

"Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"You understand what will probably happen if you join the Pack?"

He looks confused,

"No. What will happen?"

"Moony sees you as the cub of another member of the Pack, but he will still want to assert his dominance and make sure you know your place… He will probably give you a hard time at first, until he is sure you accept that."

"But its Remus…" he looks confused.

I shake my head,

"No, it isn't. Moony is never exactly the same as Remus, no mater what anyone says. Remus is always a little canine, but at the Full Moon he is fully canine. He isn't human at that time and doesn't think the same way as he does for the rest of the Moon-cycle."

"I always thought the wolfsbane made him keep his human mind during the Moon," he replies.

"No," I shrug, "he's still a wolf. He's just cured of the bloodlust an untreated werewolf has."

Harry nods,

"I get it. Are you saying you think I shouldn't join?"

I laugh,

"Not at all! You would make my Mate very happy if you joined us. I was just warning you."

He smiles,

"Thanks."

Remus' POV

I watch as Wolfcub plays with Ron, but find myself aching for my Mate. Before long he comes in with the drinks, though, then joins me on the sofa.

"You ok with Ron being here?" he murmurs quietly in my ear as the others talk amongst themselves.

"I trust him," I reply as I curl up as close to him as possible. He holds me close and rubs my back comfortingly.

"Why do you think Wolfcub isn't as… clingy is you are?" he asks.

"He doesn't know what's coming," I reply softly, "and he doesn't realise how lucky he is."

"I'm not going to leave you if you stop hugging me," he replies. "I'm in for life, Moony. I won't leave you, I don't want to."

I nod,

"I know that, but I also love to have you hugging me," I nuzzle him gently. "I will always be grateful that you guys accepted me, you especially."

"You're more than welcome," he smiles.

"Padfoot!" James calls, "did you read the paper this morning? It has the write up of what you and Moony spoke about yesterday."

"We don't get the paper," my Mate tells him. "How was it?"

"It was great reading!" James sniggers. "I really like the quote of you saying 'Of course I love him, you moron, you think I am weak enough to be forced into something I don't like?'"

Sirius laughs,

"Did they actually print that?"

"Yeah," James grins. "It seems somebody told them that they couldn't play around with quotes anymore, so they had to use everything they were given…"

We all look at Harry.

Harry just shrugs and laughs,

"I didn't think they'd take me that seriously…"

"You defeated Voldemort," I murmur, "what are a few reporters next to that?"

"What are you saying?" James fakes a look of shock; "I'd take Voldemort over a reporter any day!"

"Reporters are the ultimate evil," Sirius agrees.

I roll my eyes.

"Reporters evil?" Wolfcub looks up innocently.

"Yes!" Sirius nods vigorously. "You must always be careful around reporters."

"Sirius!" Lily and I object instantly. "You'll confuse him!"

Wolfcub giggles at us,

"Padfoot in trouble!"

Sirius lets out a bark of a laugh,

"Mmm, I'm in the dog-house…"

I look at him,

"I'll forgive you if you pass me my tea," I gesture to it on the table beside him.

He grins,

"Your wish is my command, oh wise and wonderful Moony!"

Later, Sirius' POV

Moony has given Wolfcub his wolfsbane, and has taken him to bed. I stand in the hallway seeing the others off.

I wave goodbye to Lily, Harry and Ron and they Disapperate away. Prongs stays long enough to clap me on the shoulder and offer me an encouraging smile, then follows them.

I walk up the stairs to join my Mate.

I enter the bedroom to find my Mate buried under the sheets with only his eyes peering out at me from the depths. I smile and kneel by the bed so we are eye to eye.

"Hello, Moony," I greet him quietly.

"Hello, Padfoot," he replies.

"You're cold?"

The cover moves so assume he is nodding.

"Shall I join you?" I ask. I like to check when he is in this mood; he gets jittery sometimes and is afraid I will hurt him, at such times I transform and sleep at the end of the bed.

The cover moves again, and I'm pretty sure it was the same movement as before. I lift the cover a little and slide in with him. He cuddles up to my chest before I have even settled.

"I love you," I tell him.

"Mmm," he nods happily.

I thank Merlin that this normally only happens once a month.

Next Day

Tonight is the Full Moon. I'm at home all day, as I have taken the two days off that surround it to be with my family.

I sigh softly as I watch my Mate becoming more agitated as the day progresses. Our cub doesn't seem to be affected as badly and just seems to seek more reassurance than is usual.

I can see his shoulders are tense, so I wrap my arms around him,

"Moony, relax."

"Hmm…" he leans back against me. "Sorry."

"Moony's worrying the others won't accept our cub?" I murmur, knowing that Moony's mindset is more powerful near the Moon.

"I think so," he agrees quietly.

"Anything I can do?"

"Hold me?" he murmurs, then turns to snuggle into my hold.

I rub his back reassuringly.

"I love you," I tell him as I guide him to the sofa. He curls up against me, as he always likes to, and lets out a small sigh of contentment.

I know a lot of people would get a kick out of the power I have over my Mate, but controlling him that way would make me ill. It is ironic; my family dictates that members of the Black family must always seek power in their relationships. I have much more power over my Mate than my father ever had over my mother.

"I'm still not happy with what we spoke about before," I kiss the pulse point on his neck.

"Sorry…" he apologises quickly.

"Don't be," I tell him.

"I love you, Moony," I continue, "it isn't right for me to leave you to look after our son."

He doesn't reply; his submissive side has almost complete control now.

I sigh,

"I've lost you haven't I?" I hug him tighter. He doesn't reply other than to clutch at my robes a little tighter.

The doorbell rings, and I gently extract myself.

Prongs smiles at me as I open the door,

"Hey, Padfoot."

"Prongs," I gesture for him to enter.

"How are they?" he asks quietly.

"Moony's submissive and Wolfcub's nervous," I admit.

He nods,

"Is Moony still talking or has it gone all the way?"

"All the way," I reply with a sigh. "He says the occasional word, but, yeah, he's silent."

"I had hoped he was out of that," Prongs sighs. "Last Moon was fine."

I nod,

"This is his anniversary though, that probably doesn't help. Add to that the fact Moony is worried about introducing our cub…"

"Padfoot, breathe…" Prongs grips my shoulders.

I bite my lip,

"What have I gotten myself into?" to my surprise I feel tears slipping down my face.

All credit to Prongs who doesn't even hesitate before pulling me into a hug.

"Hey, shh…" he murmurs. "Sirius, it's ok…"

I press my face against his neck,

"I'm not ready for this responsibility, James."

"Don't be ridiculous," he replies. "You're more ready than I was. You had the maturity to commit to Remus back in year 5. I only got that far with Evans in year 7…"

"It's hard," I admit, but pull back from him.

He nods,

"Yes, but you'll get through it. You always do." He watches me, "look, if it's really bugging you I can look after Wolfcub after the Moon…?"

I shake my head, pulling myself together,

"No, I'm the alpha, I'll do it. I figure I have two arms for a reason."

"You sure?" he rests his hand on my shoulder.

I nod, then notice the clock,

"You're early, it's only 12 o'clock."

He smiles, seeing straight through my change of subject,

"The coach saw I was distracted and when I told him why he said I could get away early to come here. I thought you might like a little moral support."

I blanch,

"I've left him alone…"

I find Moony exactly where I left him on the sofa. He smiles as I rejoin him, and curls back around me. James paused, then sits on the other side of my Mate, and close enough so that his shoulder touches Moony's back. I hear a happy purr and shot Prongs a grateful look.

"So," Prongs murmurs. "What shall we talk about?"

Later, James' POV

I get sandwiches for Wolfcub and myself, but not for Padfoot and Moony; who will apparently get something later.

"Why Moony sad?" Wolfcub asks as he watches me spread the jam.

"He isn't sad, not really," I reply as I put the jar away. "Moony didn't have it too good when he was young, he's worried that Padfoot will leave him because of what he is."

"Will he?"

Stupid Prongs; now you've got Devlin worried too.

"No, certainly not. Padfoot would never leave Moony," I tell him.

"Moony not know?"

"He does know, but he likes a bit of reassurance every now and again."

I watch him mule that over,

"People not like doggies?"

Stupid stupid stupid… I don't know what Padfoot and Moony have told him… Ah well, here goes.

"No, some people don't," I admit.

"You do?"

"Yes, I do. So does Padfoot, Lily, Harry, Ron, Molly and the others you met with us."

He nods,

"I like you too."

I fight the urge to laugh,

"Thank you."

I hand him the sandwich and join at the table as I pick at my own.

I hate to see the strain Moony's transformations have on my friend. He tries so very hard to hide it, but sometimes… It worries me. At some point Padfoot may crack under the pressure, and I don't know what will happen if he does.

It's times like these that my own guilt hits me. I'm sure that the twelve years he spent in Azkaban didn't help matters. There are so many ways that we could have done things differently… Hindsight is 20/20, but that isn't much comfort.

I rest my head into my hands. I'm not used to having to worry about Padfoot. Moony, yeah, everyone who knows Moony worries about him. Lily and Harry, sure, they're my family and my mind is still in the War mindset. Peter, yeah, I worried about him too, he didn't have the talent we had so, yeah. But Padfoot, he is my equal, my partner in crime. I shouldn't have to worry about him.

I shake my head and force myself to eat the rest of the sandwich. Wolfcub finishes his lunch rather quickly, then sits at the table fidgeting. I tell him he can get down if he's finished and he beams happily and takes his plate to the sink before running off.

I stand in the doorway to the living room for a moment and watch as Padfoot murmurs soft comforts to his Mate. Moony seems to be listening, but doesn't reply.

I remember the first time Moony went silent on us before the Moony; it was back in year 6. It was autumn then too. Moony had to have two days off school because he wouldn't respond to any questions in class. Padfoot, of course, promptly took it upon himself to bunk off too. Surprisingly he never did get into any trouble over that.

I smile as I walk into the room.

"Where's Wolfcub?" Padfoot asks.

Moony's head jerks up from Padfoot's chest,

"Cub?"

"Hey, it's ok," I drop down beside them. "He went to play in his room."

Moony stares at the doorway for a bit, then gets to his feet.

"Moony?" Padfoot calls him as he exits the room.

He turns around.

"He's safe, Moony. He's still in our territory."

Moony nods, but still heads off upstairs.

"Are you going to follow him?" I ask, after a pause.

"No," he sighs. "He'll be back shortly, and he needs to realise for himself that I'm right on this."

"This is hard for you," I murmur.

"You have no idea," he replies. "You haven't ever seen him when he's afraid of me."

I watch him carefully, he looks tired and worried, but not particularly stressed or biter.

"You still love him?" it's the first time I've actually come out and asked him if he regrets his decision in year 5.

He looks pained and my eyes widen,

"You don't?"

His head jerks back to face me,

"I'll always love him. I just don't like it when he's like this…"

I nod,

"I know what you mean. The wolf is more like him than this is."

He nods,

"I love the wolf. Well, Padfoot does… to avoid any treacherous mental images…"

I laugh easily and he grins back.

Later, Sirius' POV

It's now five thirty and we're all sitting around the living room. Lily, Harry and Prongs and taken one sofa, and Moony, Wolfcub and I are on the other. Luckily Moony has snapped out of the totally silent submissive version of himself.

"I'm sorry I caused you so much trouble," Moony murmurs.

"I love you," I reply instantly, "it isn't any trouble."

He smiles and rests his head back against my shoulder.

"Professor!" Prongs holds up his hand like he's in class.

"Yes?" Moony smiles over at him.

"Not to be picky, but where are we going tonight?" he asks. "Only, my antlers make doorways quite… well, you know."

I start to snigger, which sets Moony off giggling.

"It wasn't funny!" Prongs objects.

Moony manages to stop giggling,

"It was amusing though. Even Moony thought so."

Prongs sighs,

"Well, I suppose it was rather silly," he grins.

"Anyway," Harry interrupts, "James has a point. Mum and I won't be able to keep up if you run, and James will be uncomfortable in the house."

"The garden is large," I muse. "That should do to start."

"Can we relocate then?" Prongs encourages.

I nod and get to my feet. Moony winces as he gets up, so I scoop him into my arms. Then I remember Wolfcub.

"Umm, Wolfcub…" I try to work out a way of carrying them both.

Moony almost makes me overbalance when he suddenly reaches down to Wolfcub and pulls him up to rest on his lap.

"You don't weigh enough if I can do this so easily," I tell them as we head outside.

Remus' POV

I just smile at my Mate as he complains. Once on the patio he lets us down, though I promptly curl back against him as he joins us on the floor.

James, Lily and Harry sit down close to us, and Wolfcub crawls over to curl up in Harry's arms.

"You don't have to stay if you have…" I start to say, but Sirius covers my mouth with his hand.

"We're going to pretend we didn't hear you say anything," he tells me.

I roll my eyes, but I can feel my smile is wider.

"How long?" Wolfcub whispers.

Harry checks his watch,

"A few minutes. Not very long, basically."

"We should get undressed," I mutter.

Sirius shrugs,

"Don't bother, you have plenty of other clothes." He pauses, "how much did you spend, Evans?"

She laughs,

"Some of it was as a gift, but you paid me back for 1200 Galleons."

I stare at her,

"We did?"

"I took it from your account," Prongs shrugs. "I still have your spare key in mine."

We sit in silence for a few minutes.

"Only three minutes to go," I murmur, smiling gently at our cub.

"Hmm," Harry nods. "Oh, Remus? I have something to tell you."

I look at him,

"Yes, Harry?"

"James has just taught me to be an Animagus," he tells me offhandedly.

I stare at him,

"What?" it comes out in a hushed whisper.

"I thought you might like it if I kept you company, so I've been learning since I started my training," he grins.

"Two years?" I almost stutter. "You never said…"

He laughs,

"Don't you like surprises?"

"Did you…?" I turn to my Mate.

"No," he's grinning widely.

I feel my face slipping into a grin,

"Thank you, Harry," I manage to say.

"You're welcome," he grins.

"You took less time than these two," Lily comments.

"I think I probably had more spare time," he admits. "After the War with Voldemort there wasn't a lot left for me to learn."

"One minute," Prongs mutters, shooting me a sorry smile at having to ground us.

I nod,

"Wolfcub, come here," I offer Harry a lopsided smile, "I don't want him to bite you by accident."

My son comes across to me, but the pain hits us both before he reaches me. I grit my teeth, then scream loudly as I arch back.

Author Notes:

Heh, that was a long one!

Hmm, I have decided that it'll be ok for Harry to join them now. He has had a large amount of time to study it over the last two years, and with James' help he has cracked it.

I have had to stop the story there because I am still debating what to make Harry. I think I'll go with a dog, so that I can have an irritated James! Any suggestions as to what breed, or whatever, are welcome, and if you have another animal in mind please let me know!

Crescomellonnin- Thank you, and I do like your suggestion! I like writing light-angst. I have touched on what you said in this chapter, but will return to it later. ;)

T.k -Kon - Lol, that's a good idea! I hadn't thought about having a bird… Thank you!

The Full Moon will be in the next chapter, I suppose! I know it was going to be this one, but at 20 pages I thought I'd cut you off early!

The essay we've been set isn't so hard, so I will probably continue to update at this sort of rate.

Thanks again