Complicated

By Neurotica

Seven

Sirius strolled down Diagon Alley, Remus' shopping list in his hand. Aletha was at St. Mungo's, speaking with the hospital's director about transferring back to London, and Harry and Meghan were at Danger's for the day – Remus was getting some much needed rest, since the full moon was in two days. The Head Auror had picked up the items listed on the parchment his best friend had given him from the Apothecary, Flourish and Blotts, and Gambol and Japes Joke Shop. He didn't feel the least bit guilty about his last stop, even though Remus hadn't actually asked him to go there.

We're running low on pranking supplies, so it would have only been a matter of time before one of us had to go there anyway, he reasoned with himself, peering eagerly into the bag of materials he'd purchased and mentally tagging them as "Show to Remus" and "Use on Remus."

Unfortunately, while he had his head in the bag, his feet kept going, and he collided with another shopper. "Oh, I'm so sorry, are you alright?" he asked hastily, bending down to pick up the witch's purchases. But when he looked up, he found he was talking to thin air. He stood up and looked around, searching for the woman he'd bumped into. He got only a faint glimpse of a worried face under long blonde hair before the witch fled into the crowd. "Miss!" he called out. "Don't you want your bags?"

He picked up the two bags of groceries and followed the woman, finally catching up to her just outside Ollivander's Wand Shop. She was obviously avoiding him, and at first he couldn't understand why, but when he passed her and stepped in front of her, blocking her path, he realized who he was chasing, and promptly dropped everything in his arms.

"Naomi?" he said loudly, his eyes widening in surprise.

The witch looked around as if afraid someone else would hear him say her name. "Hi, Sirius," she said quietly.

Sirius laughed shortly. "'Hi, Sirius.' Nice greeting after five years. What're you doing here? I thought you were in America."

She blinked in surprise. "America? Why would I be in America?"

"That's where Remus said you went after Lily and James… well, after their funerals," Sirius said.

"He… told you I went to America," she said slowly.

"Yeah," Sirius said. "How long have you been back?"

Naomi averted her eyes from his, smoothing down the sleeve of her robes. "Oh, not too long," she said shakily. "A few months…"

Sirius grinned. "So why haven't you been by to see us? Aletha's back, did you know?"

"Oh, no, I didn't know that. How is she?"

Somehow, Sirius missed the sound of panic in Naomi's voice. "She's great," he replied, his grin widening. "We have a daughter."

Naomi's jaw dropped in shock. "What?" she said. "You haven't been out of… of Azkaban for that long."

"Yeah, well, apparently Letha was pregnant before everything happened. She didn't know before she left for America."

"Wow," Naomi said, a small smile forming on her face. "Congratulations, Sirius. What's her name?"

"Meghan Lily Black," Sirius said proudly. "She's gorgeous, Naomi. You've got to come see her sometime. And Harry too – Remus and I took him from his relatives' house last year, he's living with us now."

"I heard about that," Naomi said, looking over her shoulder. "Listen, Sirius, it was good seeing you again, but I've got to get going–"

Sirius' face fell. "But… Naomi, we haven't seen you in five years. I'm sure Remus and Letha would love to see you."

Naomi muttered something under her breath. Sirius frowned. It couldn't have been what he thought it was… "I've got a lot going on," the witch said aloud. "Really busy, you know."

"Well, where can we reach you? Maybe we can get together for dinner some night?"

"I… I don't think so, Sirius," she said, waving her wand hastily to send her groceries flying back into their bags. "I'm really sorry, but this is just a really bad time for me…"

"Then you can come by the cottage when the time is good for you. You remember how to get there, right?"

"Yeah, of course," she said. "Well, I've got to run. It was good seeing you, Sirius. Bye."

Before Sirius could think of a reply, Naomi had Disapparated. He thought he heard an extra faint pop, like an echo, when she disappeared, but he attributed it to his imagination. Completely confused at the behavior of the woman who had once been one of his best friends – had she really said, "I doubt it" when he'd asserted Remus and Aletha would want to see her again? – he gathered up the bags of stuff he'd bought and prepared to Apparate to the cottage.

Remus could only stare at his best friend's back as he unloaded the bags from Diagon Alley in the kitchen later that afternoon. "And she was acting so oddly, like she couldn't wait to get away from me," Sirius was saying. "I told her to come by the cottage some time, but she never gave me a straight answer."

Remus couldn't decide what he was feeling. On the one side, he'd never told Sirius the true reason that Naomi had left him, and the truth would only make the other wizard angry. But on the other side, he wanted to tell Sirius everything – they'd been building up trust between each other since Sirius' release from Azkaban. There's no reason not to tell him, and every reason I should...

Sirius sat beside him at the table. "What really happened with Naomi?" he asked bluntly. "You're acting like you have a secret. What is it?"

Remus leaned back in his chair and ran his hands through his hair, thinking over his options. Finally, he took a deep breath, preparing to blurt out everything, but an Apparition pop in the living room cut him off. Remus sighed deeply in relief when he heard Aletha announcing she was back.

"Hello, love," Sirius said, getting up to greet her. "How'd it go at St. Mungo's?"

"Just fine," she replied. "I've been granted a transfer, and I start my new job in two weeks, once all the paperwork comes through."

Sirius smiled widely. "Brilliant," he said. "So you're really staying then?"

"Of course I'm staying," Aletha said, putting her arms around his waist. "What did you think, I was leaving again, after just starting to get you housetrained? You're stuck with me, Black, deal with it."

Remus looked away politely as the couple dealt with Aletha's staying in London. After a few moments, he found it was safe to turn back to them. "Congratulations, Letha," he said. "It's good to know there's another person here to help keep this dope in line."

Aletha grinned. "I do my best," she said. "How were your days, boys?"

"I saw Naomi in Diagon Alley," Sirius blurted out before Remus could think of anything to say.

"Naomi Watts? You're kidding! I thought she'd gone to America."

Remus looked away again, this time trying to avoid having to answer questions.

"She said she's been back for a few months," Sirius told his wife. "I told her you were back, and about Meghan, but I didn't really talk to her that much. She practically ran away when I asked her to come over for dinner some time."

"That's odd," Aletha said with a frown. "Was she happy to see you at all? It has been five years…"

"Not really," Sirius said. "Like I said, she looked really frazzled, glancing over her shoulder every few seconds, and she couldn't wait to get out of there. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she was in some sort of trouble."

Remus coughed. "We should probably get Harry and Meghan, don't you think? Danger's going to be in over her head with all three of them there…"

Sirius raised an eyebrow at him, but Aletha nodded. "You're right. I'll Floo over there now. Sirius, you want to come with me so I don't have to make two trips?"

"Yes, your royal highness," Sirius muttered, ducking the slap Aletha tried to give his head. Remus made up for it as the Auror stood to follow his wife. "Ow, you wanker, that really hurt."

Naomi stood in her kitchen, chopping up vegetables for her dinner, but not focusing on what she was doing. If she had looked down, she would have seen that instead of chopping a cucumber for her salad, she was reducing one of her favorite cookbooks to confetti. But her mind was far away from her work.

For five years she'd avoided being seen by any of her old friends, mainly Remus. But in one afternoon, in less than five seconds' time, she'd ruined her attempts to remain as far away as possible from the people she'd betrayed, and pulled herself right back into the sphere she'd been trying to escape.

The conversation she'd had with Sirius was one of the most confusing she could ever remember having with the wizard, and she'd had some very confusing conversations with him. For one, she'd never been to America in her entire life; why would Sirius think she'd gone there after Lily and James' funeral? Unless Remus had told him that instead breaking the news of her becoming a Death Eater. But why would he have lied to Sirius about that? Remus had never reported her to the Ministry, and she was grateful to him for that, but she never thought he'd lie to Sirius.

When Sirius had been released from Azkaban last June, Naomi was sure he would know that she'd betrayed her friends for the Dark Lord, and he, like Remus, would hate her. She'd been relieved to read about Sirius being found innocent, about the Ministry finally discovering that Peter was the true murderer, the true traitor. Sirius' innocence had burned her all these years like the Dark Mark burned into her skin, the Dark Mark that had made sure Remus didn't believe her when she tried to tell him, the Dark Mark that meant she couldn't tell the Ministry the truth herself.

And it was the Dark Mark that was about to betray her again. By now, Sirius would know what Naomi had become – Remus wouldn't have kept it from him after today – and it wouldn't be long before the Ministry was at her door to arrest her. Sighing shakily, trying not to cry, she looked around her small flat, wondering how long it would take to pack up and leave town.

"After dinner," she muttered to herself. "I'm no good with an empty stomach…" She turned back to the vegetables she was preparing, swore under her breath at the sight of the cookbook, and pushed it to one side, setting a carrot on the board instead, but a loud knock on her door startled her and made her drop it.

No… they can't be here for me already… can they? she wondered desperately. Oh God, it's all over. Remus told Sirius everything, and now he's here to take me to Azkaban…

"Who is it?" she called to the door. There was no answer. She frowned. Picking up her wand on the kitchen table, she went to the door and stood in front of it. At a studiously nonchalant wave of her wand, a large portion of the door disappeared, allowing her to look out into the hallway, but not allowing the person coming for a visit to see her. And the person she saw was the last one she'd ever expect.

What in the name of Merlin is he doing here? she asked herself. The wizard outside her flat wasn't one she'd ever been on good terms with, and she'd never thought she'd have to deal with him again. But she knew that if she didn't open her door, he'd find another way in. And he's got no reason to hurt me; we're supposedly on the same side now… Swallowing a large lump in her throat, Naomi glanced down at her left forearm where she could faintly see the outline of a skull and snake.

With a heavy sigh, she opened her door. The wizard didn't give her any verbal greeting, but pushed her aside and closed the door himself. "Is there something I can help you with?" she asked evenly.

The wizard turned to face her and lowered his hood, revealing long blond hair that wasn't as sleek and shiny as she was used to seeing. His face looked worn and stressed, not the arrogant mask he usually wore. The arrogance was still there, but six months on the run had done a number on Lucius Malfoy. "I'm here on business, Watts," he said smoothly. "Our master has sent me to make certain you are still willing to serve him."

Do I really have a choice in the matter? "Of course I'm willing to serve him, Lucius. Why isn't he here himself?"

"Because he is not well enough for travel," Malfoy said patronizingly. "I've been following you for two days, Watts, and I noticed today you caught up with an old friend."

"Sirius Black can hardly be called an old friend," Naomi said, trying to hold back the sadness she felt at admitting this aloud. "He'll know by now what I've become, and it's only a matter of time before I'm on the run just as you are."

"True, sad but true." Malfoy pulled a sorrowful face. "Unless, of course, Black is taken out of the picture."

Naomi stared at him. "What do you mean?" She tried to keep her tone even, but her heart was pounding fearfully.

"I've developed a plan that will get rid of Sirius Black once and for all," Malfoy said. "He's become rather bothersome to the Dark Lord, and he must be eliminated. His family too," he added in a sneer. "Harry Potter must be captured again, obviously – there'll be no bungling like that of Pettigrew this time. And Lupin… well, I have my own plans for Lupin, and this is where you come in, Watts."

Oh God, what's he going to do with them? Naomi hoped Malfoy couldn't hear how hard her heart was pounding. "What do you need me to do?" she said in a surprisingly calm voice, considering her current inner state of panic.

"Were you aware that Lupin has replaced you?"

Naomi blinked. "Replaced me? What do you mean?"

"He's got a new woman. A Muggle, by the looks of her," Malfoy said lightly. "Oh, you didn't know. It's sickening the way he looks at her – it was the same way he looked at you. Disgusting…"

"He's seeing somebody?" Naomi whispered. "Who is she?"

"I do not know," Malfoy said carelessly. "What I do know is that Lupin seems to care for her deeply. And I also know that he is a werewolf. Did you know, Naomi, that werewolves can be used for many resurrection spells?"

Naomi shook her head, forcing herself to stand still. She couldn't back away from him, that would be admitting weakness, and Lucius Malfoy was just as much a predator as Remus in his transformed state. Showing weakness would be fatal…

"Oh, yes. The transformative aspect of the full moon can be harnessed to help one who has become- disembodied return to a fleshly form. The spells are very difficult, though, and involve a human sacrifice – quite messy…"

Naomi could just imagine the form the sacrifice would take. No. No. Even if I can't have him anymore, I can't let this happen to him, he'd go mad if he thought he'd killed someone – him, why am I worried about him, what about me? What's my part going to be?

"Our master requests your service in his return to power, Naomi," said Malfoy lazily. "Oh, don't look so shocked, you won't be the sacrifice," he said in disgust when he caught a glimpse of Naomi's face. "Lupin's new woman can have that part, all she's good for, really. But you must be present to help cast the spell." Malfoy smirked and took a few steps closer to her. She tried not to cringe away from him. "It takes two loyal subjects to cast it, Naomi," he said in a husky voice. "Two working closely together…"

Her hands twitched, aching to slap him, for using her first name, for speaking to her in that tone, for even daring to suggest this to her. She resisted with great difficulty. "And how will you get… Lupin and his woman?"

"I will see to that," Malfoy said crisply. "All that you need concern yourself with is arriving at my manor by midnight on the night of the full moon."

Naomi nodded stiffly, not looking at the wizard. "I will be there," she said quietly.

"Excellent," Malfoy whispered, raising her chin with his pale finger. "Soon, Naomi, we will be the highest of the Death Eaters, honored above all others. I believe a celebration is in order, don't you?"

Though Naomi burned to slap him, she reminded herself what she'd done with her life, and allowed him to connect his lips to hers. She'd betrayed her friends and her love, let a madman brand her, and this was what her life had become. It was no more than she believed she deserved.

"Meghan."

It was the morning of the full moon, and Meghan was being difficult. He sighed. "Meghan, wake up," he said a bit louder. "Come on, we're going to Hogwarts today."

Meghan rolled over, facing him, and opened one silver-gray eye slightly. "Go 'way, Harry," she muttered tiredly.

Harry rolled his eyes. Meghan looked and acted just like Letha, except for two things: her eyes and her attitude in the mornings. Those were just like Sirius. Well, maybe three. Letha didn't like pranks as much as Meghan did. "Meghan, you gotta get up. We got to have breakfast and pack our bags before we go to Hogwarts. Then you can meet Hagrid and see the Giant Squid, and you might even get to see Professor Potato Head."

This woke Meghan up. "The one Dadfoot doesn't like?" Over the last few weeks, Meghan had adopted a new nickname for her father. She hadn't been sure what to call him at first, although Letha had encouraged Daddy or Dad. When she had heard Remus calling Sirius Padfoot, she had latched onto it and sculpted it into her own name for him.

"That's him." Harry grinned. "We can probably get Peeves to throw water balloons at him. Last year, Peeves dumped a bucket of water and shampoo on his head."

Meghan giggled. "Will we get to go in the forest?"

Harry's grin faded. "No," he said quietly. "Sirius won't let me go into the forest." He'd had a very bad experience with the forest the year before, having been kidnapped by Peter Pettigrew just at the edge of the trees. "But we might get to go to the Quidditch pitch."

"What's Quidditch?"

"What's all the noise in here?" The bedroom door opened and Sirius poked his head in, his hair its usual morning mess. "Do you two realize that it's not even eight in the morning yet?"

"Sirius, when do we get to go to Hogwarts?" Harry asked excitedly, running to the door and pulling his godfather all the way into the room. "Can we go now?"

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "No, we can't go now, Harry. We have to wait at least until everyone wakes up and gets something to eat. Remus and Letha are still asleep, and none of us have had breakfast. Depending on how the morning goes, we'll probably leave for Hogwarts around lunchtime."

Meghan and Harry groaned in unison. "Please can we go now, Dadfoot?" Meghan asked in her best begging tone, her eyes forming the puppy-dog look Sirius had mastered in his younger years.

It looked like Sirius was about to cave with the look his daughter was giving him, but Aletha entered at that very moment, ruining all chances the children had of getting Sirius to take them to Hogwarts early. "What are you two doing?" the witch asked.

"Ganging up on me," Sirius said, tearing his eyes away from his daughter's with an effort. "They've already learned that double-teaming me to get what they want will work."

"That's because you're too soft. Come on, you two, breakfast," Aletha said.

"What, I don't get breakfast?" Sirius asked, following his godson and daughter out of the bedroom and down the hall to the kitchen.

Aletha turned to him. "Only if you want to make it. What do I look like, a house-elf?"

"Is that a trick question?"

"Do you want to sleep on the Quidditch pitch tonight while we're at Hogwarts?"

"Will you be there with me?"

"No."

"Then no, I do not want to sleep on the Quidditch pitch."

"Okay, then get started on breakfast."

Sirius furrowed his brow. "How did that happen?" he wondered aloud as Aletha grinned triumphantly. He rummaged in the refrigerator for eggs, trying to ignore the giggles of Harry and Meghan behind him.

It ended up being late in the afternoon before Sirius, Aletha, Meghan, and Harry left for Hogwarts. After seeing them off at the fireplace, Remus went to heat the last batch of the Wolfsbane Potion that had been delivered a few days before by Severus Snape. Dumbledore had asked the Hogwarts Potions Master to prepare the potion for Remus, to make his full moons easier. Snape had grudgingly agreed.

Remus stirred the bubbling potion in his cauldron, making sure it didn't stick and burn. There was nothing worse than burnt Wolfsbane Potion – he'd found that out a few months back when he'd had to go investigate an odd noise in the backyard caused by Harry and Sirius' attempts at a new prank gone bad. The two of them had tried to do something to Remus' shoes, and it had resulted in an explosion and the shoes growing teeth, chasing them all around the yard until Remus finally had the sense to use a body-bind spell on them. Before then, he'd never known that a body-bind spell worked on non-human targets.

Smiling at the memory of that day, Remus failed to notice the odd swirls the potion was displaying as he stirred it. He found a cup, filled it with the silver-black liquid, and pinched his nose, swallowing the disgusting concoction in four large gulps.

Good Lord, it's even worse than usual.

Once he was finished with the potion, he started to make his way to the sink to rinse out his cup and get a drink of water. Halfway there, with very little fanfare, the world faded to black around him, and only a vague feeling of worry and a horrid taste in his mouth accompanied him into the darkness.

Danger tucked Neenie into bed at eight o'clock that night after reading the girl a bedtime story. After kissing her sister's forehead, she stood up, shut off the bedside lamp, and left the bedroom, leaving the door open enough for her to hear if Neenie called for her in the night.

She made her way down to her kitchen, trying not to look out the window. She knew Remus was alone tonight, probably in the basement of his cottage already, waiting for his transformation to happen, if it hadn't happened already – she wasn't sure when moonrise was that night.

He'd explained to her all about the Wolfsbane Potion and how it made him harmless to humans in his transformed state. He'd also told her that thanks to the potion, after his transformation, he wouldn't be as useless as he'd once been. He'd be a bit stiff and sore, but not beaten and bloody, and he'd be able to go about his day almost normally. And then he'd asked her if she wanted to go out for dinner with him two nights from the full moon, just the two of them.

Her fingers trailed across the slim wooden wand she'd bought at Diagon Alley a week ago, with Remus beside her. She smiled at the memory of the way he'd reddened and stammered when he'd asked her to dinner, and rolled her eyes at the look of shock on his face when she'd said yes – he'd obviously been expecting a no. As she filled the tea kettle at the sink, she sighed a bit dreamily at the thought of getting to know Remus better. Then she laughed at how like a lovesick teenager she was acting.

There's no better way to turn a man off than drooping and sighing all over him, she thought, putting the kettle on the stove. Just be yourself. He's obviously attracted to that.

Sitting down at the kitchen table, she picked up the book she'd been trying to finish reading for months. She'd have a cup of tea, and then bed.

Just as the kettle whistled, all the lights in the house went out.

Danger closed her book and reached for her wand, feeling around the table for it. Damn it, she cursed mentally. Where is it?

In another instant, she froze. She could sense another presence in the kitchen with her, and it wasn't Neenie…

"Good evening," a man's voice said, as cold and smooth as a river of ice. "I don't believe we've had the pleasure of being introduced." Danger blinked as her shadow appeared in front of her, and slowly turned around to face the light and the speaker. Her mouth went dry as she got a good look at him. "My name is Lucius Malfoy…"

AN: Does this make up for my not updating this in a month? Sorry about that... You wouldn't believe the writer's block I had with this story... Oh well, seems to be over now. Please review! And, as always, thanks to Anne for her contributions to the chapter!